Curated playlist
Pop record labels
- Capitol RecordsCapitol Records was born on a golf course. Songwriter Johnny Mercer pitched the idea during a round in 1942.
- Interscope RecordsInterscope Records gave artists complete creative control from its first day.
- Sire RecordsTwo men put in ten thousand dollars each to start Sire Productions in 1966.
- ParlophoneParlophone carries a logo that looks like a British pound sign, yet the mark is really a stylised blackletter L. The letter stands for Lindström, the name of the company that created the label. The resemblance to the pound sign, and to the…
- Columbia RecordsColumbia Records signed Bob Dylan first as a harmonica player, and some executives called him "Hammond's folly".
- Polydor RecordsPolydor Records began in a German music box factory. The Leipzig firm was founded in 1887.
- King Records (Japan)King Records, a Japanese label, took its name from a magazine. Kingu magazine ran from 1924 to 1957.
- Capitol Music GroupA February 2007 merger joined Capitol Records and Virgin Records America. EMI aimed to save roughly $217 million a year.
- Apple RecordsThe Apple Records logo began as a painting of a green apple. Paul McCartney got it from a friend in 1967.
- MGM RecordsMGM Records invented the phrase "recorded directly from the soundtrack." The film studio's label began in 1946.
- United Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records began in 1957 just to sell movie soundtracks. It soon signed jazz, folk, Motown and rock acts.
- Swan RecordsSwan Records, a small Philadelphia label, got a Beatles number one after Capitol Records passed.