CBS Records (1938–1990; renamed since 1991 as Columbia Records)
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From 1961 to 1990, CBS Records was the label used for recordings that (American) Columbia Records released outside the U.S. and Canada (for Columbia Broadcasting System, its parent from 1938–1988, before its acquisition by Sony) prior to adopting the Columbia name in most of the world. The new CBS label was first introduced to the UK and Ireland in May 1962, and in July its debut in Japan was announced. The new label was also introduced to Columbia's wholly-owned subsidiaries in Latin-America (Columbia Argentina S.R.L., Columbia do Brazil, S.A., Columbia de Mexico) in August 1962; in Greece in September 1962; and in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Italy by December of 1962.
On Nov 17, 1987, the Sony Corporation of America acquired CBS Records. Between then and the end of 1990, CBS Inc. (later CBS Corporation) retained the rights to the CBS name for music recordings, but granted Sony a temporary license to use the CBS name. In 1990, Sony's newly-acquired CBS Records renamed the CBS Masterworks classical music label as Sony Classical Records.
On Jan 1, 1991, Sony renamed CBS Records as Sony Music Entertainment, and reintroduced the Columbia Records label worldwide except in Spain (where Sony acquired the rights by 2004) and Japan, which it had previously held only in the United States and Canada, after it had acquired the international rights to the trademark from EMI in 1990. Japan is the only country where Sony does not have rights to the Columbia name, as it is controlled by Nippon Columbia, an unrelated company.
CBS Corporation subsequently founded a new CBS Records in 2006.
Wikipedia
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company—successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers, instrumentalists, and bands. From 1961 to 1990, its recordings were released outside the U.S. and Canada on the CBS Records label (for Columbia Broadcasting System, its parent from 1938 to 1988) before adopting the Columbia name in most of the world.
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