His Master's Voice (British record label)

This article is about the British record label. For the painting and trademark, see His Master's Voice. For the chain of retail stores, see HMV. For other uses, see His Master's Voice (disambiguation).
His Master's Voice
The company's His Master's Voice logo, featuring Nipper.
Parent company
  • Gramophone Company (1909–1973)
    • EMI Records (1973–1990)
Founded1909; 116 years ago (1909)
Defunct1990; 35 years ago (1990)
StatusReplaced by EMI Classics
Country of originUnited Kingdom

His Master's Voice was a British subsidiary label, founded in 1909.

It was originally a sub-label of the Gramophone Company releasing classical music. From 1952 to 1967 it also released pop music and signed American talent for British distribution. From 1967 to 1973, it reverted to being a classical music sub-label again.[dubious – discuss]

In July 1973, the Gramophone Company became EMI Records, with His Master's Voice continuing as a sub-label.[1] In 1990, His Master's Voice was replaced for EMI Classics. "His Master's Voice" would still be used on occasion releases after this period, but as a throwback as opposed to being a dedicated record label.[2]

History

HMV was founded as a classical label.[3] From December 1899, the predecessor to EMI, the Gramophone Company, had purchased the His Master's Voice painting from Francis Barraud, and, from 1909, began using the phrase "His Master's Voice" and likeness of Nipper on its releases. In 1921, the Gramophone Company established His Master's Voice as a music retail chain.[4] In 1931, the Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI, with Gramophone Company continuing as a label, and His Master's Voice continuing as a sub-label, under EMI.[5]

In 1952 the label entered the pop music genre, and used a POP number prefix.[citation needed] It also signed American talent such as Elvis Presley for British distribution. This continued until 1967, when its domestic pop artists moved to either Columbia Graphophone or Parlophone, and American performers were moved to Stateside Records, reserving HMV for classical recordings.[3]

In 1998, EMI spun off its retail business, becoming its own entity, and in 2003, divested the "His Master's Voice" intellectual property to the retail business.[6]

His Master's Voice POP artist list (1952 to 1967)

References

  1. ^ "The Beatles U.K. LP Stereo/Parlo#2". www.yokono.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  2. ^ "EMI Records: The Story of EMI Music Publishing". Music Gateway. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  3. ^ a b "EMI Revamps Three Labels". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1967-11-11. p. 51.
  4. ^ "EMI: A brief history". BBC. 24 January 2000. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  5. ^ "Gramophone Company Discography". EMI Archive Trust. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  6. ^ Lara (2024-03-27). "Nipper and His Master's Voice". Huguenot Museum. Retrieved 2025-01-02.