Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an important American record label. It has been making music for over 130 years. It started on January 15, 1889, and is the oldest brand still making records today. Now, it is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, part of the big company Sony.

Columbia Records is one of the four main labels under Sony Music. The other three are Epic Records, RCA Records, and Arista Records. Before 2008, RCA and Arista were owned by a different company called BMG, but then Sony bought them.

Because it has been around so long, Columbia Records has helped many famous musicians share their music with the world. It is a big part of music history and keeps making new music today.

History

Beginnings (1888–1929)

The Columbia Phonograph Company started on January 15, 1889. It was founded by Edward D. Easton and some investors. The company was named after the District of Columbia, where its offices were. At first, it sold and fixed Edison phonographs in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Delaware. It also made its own recordings.

In 1894, Columbia stopped working with Edison and began making its own records. By 1901, it sold disc records made by Emile Berliner. For many years, Columbia was one of the top music companies in America.

Columbia Phonograph Company ownership (1925–1931)

In 1925, Columbia was bought by its UK part, the Columbia Graphophone Company. That year, Columbia started using a better way to make records, licensed from Western Electric. In 1926, Columbia bought Okeh Records and added jazz and blues artists like Louis Armstrong. By 1927, famous bandleader Guy Lombardo and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman joined Columbia. In 1928, Frank Buckley Walker made some of the first country music recordings.

Columbia ownership separation (1931–1936)

The Great Depression caused money problems for many music companies. In 1931, Columbia joined with the Gramophone Company to become EMI. But EMI had to sell its US Columbia part to avoid antitrust issues. In 1931, the U.S. Columbia company was bought by Grigsby-Grunow Company, which later went bankrupt. In 1934, Sacro Enterprises Inc. bought Columbia.

In 1936, Columbia signed a contract with the Chuck Wagon Gang, a southern gospel group that became very popular. In 1937, Columbia hired John Hammond, who helped find and support many famous jazz, blues, and folk musicians.

CBS takes over (1938–1947)

In 1938, CBS bought ARC, which included Columbia Records. In 1939, CBS moved its studios to New York City. During the 1940s, Frank Sinatra recorded for Columbia, helping the company grow. Other popular artists included Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Jimmie Lunceford.

The LP record (1948–1959)

In 1948, Columbia made the Long Playing (LP) record, which turned at 33⅓ revolutions per minute. This new way of making records soon became normal. The first LP was Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. Columbia’s LPs were very popular for classical music and also for popular artists like Frank Sinatra.

The 1950s

In 1951, Columbia began making records that turned at 45 rpm. Columbia grew very successful in the 1950s, especially after signing Mitch Miller. He brought in artists like Tony Bennett, Mahalia Jackson, and Johnny Mathis. In 1953, Columbia created Epic Records. In 1954, Columbia introduced its modern "Walking Eye" logo.

The 1960s

In 1961, CBS created CBS Records International. That same year, Mitch Miller began hosting the TV show "Sing Along with Mitch," which helped promote his popular albums. In 1961, John Hammond signed Bob Dylan to Columbia. Dylan became one of Columbia’s most successful artists.

The 1970s

In 1975, Walter Yetnikoff became president of Columbia Records. In 1976, Columbia Records of Canada changed its name to CBS Records Canada. In 1979, Columbia started using digital recording technology.

The 1980s and sale to Sony

In 1988, Sony bought the CBS Records Group, including Columbia Records. Sony renamed the main part Sony Music Entertainment in 1991. The CBS Records name changed back to Columbia Records worldwide in 1991.

The 1990s–present

Columbia Records is still a big label under Sony Music Entertainment. As of December 2025, Columbia has many artists in different types of music, including Addison Rae, Adele, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, and Hozier. In 2018, Ron Perry became chairman and CEO of Columbia Records, and in 2023, Jennifer Mallory was made president.

Logos and branding

Columbia Records needed to choose a logo after getting the rights to the Columbia trademarks. In the 1990s, they often used just the word "COLUMBIA" in a special font called Bodoni Classic Bold. They tried using the "Notes and Mic" logo for jazz music but without the old CBS mark on the microphone. This logo is still used for the "Columbia Jazz" series.

In the late 1990s, they chose the "Walking Eye" logo, which was used outside North America, as Columbia's main logo worldwide, except in Japan. In Japan, a different company called Nippon Columbia still uses the "Magic Notes" logo. There, CBS/Sony Records changed its name to Sony Records in 1991 and stopped using the "Walking Eye" logo in 1998.

List of Columbia Records artists

Main article: List of Columbia Records artists

In October 2012, 85 artists were signed to Columbia Records. By December 2025, this number grew to 165 artists.

Subsidiaries

Columbia Records has several smaller music labels that work with it. These include Kemosabe Records, Small Giant Records, CloudBoy Records, Signal Records, Heavy Muscle, and CMV: Columbia Music Video. These labels help Columbia Records find and support different kinds of musicians and artists.

Affiliated labels

In January 2006, Sony BMG UK split into two groups. The Columbia Label Group focused on rock, dance, and alternative music. Some of its artists include Calvin Harris, George Ezra, Central Cee, and Robbie Williams. It also worked with labels like Ministry of Sound Records.

In August 1978, Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire brought back the American Recording Company (ARC). ARC had artists like R&B singer Deniece Williams, jazz group Weather Report, and R&B trio the Emotions.

In 1997, Columbia started working with Aware Records to share music. They kept working together in 2002.

In 2007, Columbia created Columbia Nashville, which became part of Sony Music Nashville. This let Columbia Nashville manage itself separately from Columbia in New York City. In 2009, Columbia Nashville joined Sony Music Nashville under the Sony Group Corporation umbrella through Sony Music Group.

Recording studios

Columbia Records had many famous recording studios in cities like New York City, Nashville, Hollywood, and San Francisco. Their first studio opened in 1913 in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, which was the tallest building in the world at the time. In 1917, they made one of the earliest jazz records there.

Some of their well-known studios included Studio A in New York, built in 1939, and Studio B and Studio E at the CBS Studio Building on 52nd Street. In 1948, they opened Studios C and D at 30th Street, known for having great sound quality. They also had studios in Hollywood, Chicago, and Nashville, where they recorded many famous songs over the years.

Main article: CBS Studio Building Main article: CBS 30th Street Studio See also: CBS Columbia Square See also: Bradley Studios

Executives

Columbia Records has many important leaders who help run the company. Some of these leaders include Ron Perry, who is the chairman and CEO, and Edward Wallerstein, who was chairman and CEO from 1939 to 1951. There are also other leaders like Jenifer Mallory, Stephen Russo, and Abou "Bu" Thiam who help manage different parts of the business.