London Records (UK, 1947–98)

Originally a label launched by The Decca Record Company Ltd. (which still owns the trademark and licenses it to various distributors), London Records was the imprint that British Decca used for its releases in the US from 1947 until 1979, before Decca was acquired by PolyGram. The practice continued until 1999, when the MCA and PolyGram families merged to form Universal Music Group, upon which time this purpose of London Records ceased. Around that time, London switched distribution to Warner Music, and its back catalogue continues, in the main, to be distributed by that company rather than UMG. With the label's ownership switched to the Warner Music Group, a new name was required, and London Records 90 was born. London Records 90 had a different label code, but for some releases the new label code was used, while the new name of the label was not. London Records (without the 90) was effectively defunct by 1999. Some British artists managed by London Records 90 Ltd. were nonetheless released under the London Records imprint. In 2010, Universal Music reclaimed ownership of the London Records trademark. And on July 1, 2011 Universal Music reclaimed the London Records name and relaunched it.