American Record Corporation
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | January 1929 |
| Founder | Louis G. Sylvester |
| Defunct | 1938 |
| Fate | Acquired by Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) in 1938; revived as vanity label 1978–1982 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Louis G. Sylvester (president) |
| Products | Records, record labels |
American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company or ARC Records, was a U.S.-based record label active initially from 1929 until 1938, and later revived between 1978 and 1982.
Overview
Founded in January 1929 by Louis G. Sylvester, who was president of the Scranton Button Works established in 1885, ARC originated from a pressing plant owned by Scranton that manufactured discs for several firms, including Columbia and Emerson Records, the latter also under Scranton’s ownership. ARC expanded its portfolio by acquiring Cameo Record Corporation, which controlled the Cameo, Lincoln, and Romeo labels. Additionally, it obtained six labels from Plaza Music Company (Conqueror, Banner, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, and Regal) for a nominal sum of $1 each, inclusive of liabilities. Furthermore, ARC purchased Pathé-Perfect Phonograph and Radio Corporation, owner of the Actuelle, Pathé, and Perfect labels.
The corporation 'American Record Corporation' was officially incorporated in Delaware on July 25, 1929, as a subsidiary of Consolidated Film Industries, Inc. ("CFI"). Louis G. Sylvester held the position of president, with company headquarters located at 1776 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City.
Columbia Phonograph Company US ownership
In March 1925, Louis Sterling—then managing director of the UK-based Columbia Graphophone Company and financially supported by J.P. Morgan & Co.—acquired a controlling stake in the parent firm, Columbia Phonograph Company (U.S.), for $2.5 million to secure licensing rights for new Western Electric patents that Columbia US could not independently afford. From 1925 through 1931, the British company managed U.S. operations with Sterling, originally from New York, serving as chairman.
The stock market crash of 1929 inflicted significant setbacks on the recording sector. By March 1931, J.P. Morgan, the principal shareholder, orchestrated a merger combining Columbia Graphophone Company with its subsidiaries—including Odeon records and Parlophone, acquired in 1926—and the Gramophone Company ("His Master's Voice") to create Electric and Musical Industries Ltd (EMI). Since Gramophone Company (HMV) operated as a subsidiary of Victor, and Columbia in America was controlled by UK Columbia, Victor effectively owned its chief American competitor. To circumvent potential antitrust conflicts, EMI divested its U.S. Columbia business, which continued issuing pressings derived from UK-produced matrices.
In December 1931, ownership of the U.S. Columbia Phonograph Company transferred to the Grigsby-Grunow Company, known for manufacturing Majestic radios and refrigerators. Following Grigsby-Grunow’s bankruptcy declaration in November 1933, Columbia entered receivership and was subsequently sold in June 1934 to Sacro Enterprises Inc. for $70,000. Sacro had been incorporated shortly before this transaction in New York; although official records do not disclose its principals, it is widely assumed to have functioned as a shell entity established by ARC’s parent company Consolidated Film Industries, Inc., which aligns with CFI’s later straightforward sale of Columbia in 1938.
Acquisition of Brunswick Radio Corporation by Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc.
On April 9, 1930, the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company transferred ownership of its Brunswick and Vocalion brands, patents, master recordings, inventory, studio leases, and manufacturing facilities to Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. (WB) for a sum of $10 million. WB established a division named the "Brunswick Radio Corporation."
According to a publication co-written by Jack Warner, Jr., WB's primary motivation for acquiring these assets was the patents, record pressing plant, and the 16mm home talkie projector technology. The company moved operations to WB's Sunset studio; however, the endeavor was financially unsuccessful, leading to losses amounting to $8 million.
Towards the end of 1930, Melotone was introduced as a subsidiary label under Brunswick Radio Corporation. Variety described it as an economy label offering double-sided discs priced at 25 cents with limited promotional efforts, aiming for high volume sales.
WB aimed to withdraw from the record industry but was unable to recover its investment due to economic challenges. On December 3, 1931, an arrangement was reached transferring contracts of artists and staff to Consolidated Film Industries' parent company ARC. The trademarks and master catalogs of Brunswick, Vocalion, and Melotone were loaned to the "Brunswick Record Corporation," a holding entity controlled by ARC.
This agreement allowed WB to earn royalties on records pressed from masters recorded before December 3, 1931, while ARC gained the right to issue its own masters under these labels without paying fees. The contract mandated a minimum retail price of 75 cents for 10-inch Brunswick records but permitted ARC to determine pricing for Vocalion and Melotone (with Melotone remaining at 25 cents). Should annual sales of Brunswick records in the U.S. and Canada fall below 250,000 units, ownership of the trademarks and catalog would revert back to WB. Under ARC's management, Brunswick became its premium label.
Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. acquires American Record Corporation
On December 17, 1938, Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) acquired American Record Corporation for $700,000. Edward Wallerstein was appointed president effective January 3, 1939. Subsequently, on April 4, 1939, CBS filed an amendment in New York renaming its phonograph subsidiary Columbia Phonograph Company, Inc., thereby retiring the American Record Co. name. This reorganization consolidated three separate corporations into a single entity—Columbia Phonograph Co., Inc.—and reinstated the Columbia label as CBS’s principal popular record brand in place of Brunswick.
On May 22, 1939, Columbia Recording Corporation, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware as CBS’s phonograph division. The company later adopted the name Columbia Records, Inc. in 1954 before reverting to Columbia Recording Corporation in 1962.
Columbia Recording Corporation
In February 1939, following acquisition by CBS, American Record Co.’s recording division relocated to 799 7th Avenue in New York City near CBS headquarters. Corporate offices were set up at 1473 Barnum Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Edward Wallerstein appointed John Hammond as Associate Director of Popular Recording. Although initially anticipated to leave with the hillbilly department staff changes, veteran executive Art Satherley remained and continued his successful contributions.
Hammond successfully recruited Benny Goodman from Victor Records to record for Columbia. On August 30, 1939, Columbia announced plans to discontinue the Brunswick label priced at 75 cents and introduce a new Columbia label priced at 50 cents; Goodman’s recordings debuted on this label on September 3. The Brunswick label was fully phased out by April 1940. By December 27 of that year, Columbia intended to transition many artists from the $.35 Vocalion label onto the more commercially viable $.50 Columbia label.
Due to declining Brunswick sales causing CBS to fail meeting minimum sales thresholds stipulated in a Warner Bros. lease agreement from 1931, Vocalion was also discontinued. The last Vocalion release under CBS occurred on July 5, 1940 (catalog number 5621). Okeh Records was revived in June 1940 after being acquired during the same bankruptcy sale that had transferred Columbia trademarks to ARC in 1934. Okeh issued new hillbilly recordings by Gene Autry and Bob Wills and reissued Vocalion discs with updated catalog numbers. Okeh proved notably successful until it merged into Columbia Records in 1945. A January 1941 audit revealed that Brunswick sales fell below 150,000 units between December 1939 and December 1940; as a result, control over Warner Bros.’ loaned trademarks and pre-1931 master recordings reverted back to Warner Bros. Pictures.
Acquisition of Brunswick and Vocalion by Decca Records, Inc.
On May 2, 1941, Milton Rackmil, an executive at Decca Records, completed the purchase of Brunswick Radio Corporation from Warner Brothers for $350,000. This transaction included the Brunswick, Vocalion, and Melotone master recordings released up until December 1931. Decca’s main objective was to obtain these valuable catalogs, which contained works by artists such as Isham Jones, Al Jolson, early Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. A notable example of leveraging these assets was Decca’s 1943 reissue of Jacques Rennard and His Orchestra’s 1931 rendition of "As Time Goes By," aiming to benefit from the success of the film Casablanca (1942). Due to the American Federation of Musicians’ strike between 1942 and 1944 that halted new studio sessions, this recording along with Rudy Vallee’s version were among the few prominent label releases available. Rennard’s reissued track sold over 250,000 copies, effectively recouping the acquisition cost and earning him a $1,000 bonus. This commercial achievement led to Rackmil’s elevation to Decca’s board of directors.
Revival of ARC
In August 1978, Columbia Records revived ARC as a vanity label under Maurice White’s direction. The label signed several prominent artists including Earth, Wind & Fire, Weather Report, Deniece Williams, Pockets, and The Emotions. One of ARC’s final projects was Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1981 album Raise!. By 2019, the ARC catalog had become part of Sony Music Entertainment’s portfolio.
Labels Issued or Pressed by ARC (1929–1938)
Labels existing prior to ARC’s establishment are indicated with a plus sign (+)
- ARC (used for background/intermission music in theaters circa 1931–1933?, later a vanity imprint from 1978–1982 under Maurice White)
- Banner +1929–1938
- Bernardo (client imprint)
- Broadway +from 1932 (produced under contract for Montgomery Ward)
- Brunswick +1932–1938 (leased from Warner Bros. Pictures)
- Cameo +1929–1930
- Columbia +late 1934–1938
- Commodore (client label for Commodore Music Shops)
- Conqueror +1929–1938 (client label for Sears)
- Domino +1929–1931; reactivated around 1933–34 for John Gabel Co.
- Fox Movietone (sold in Fox Theaters through Victor circa 1934)
- Gospel Herald (client imprint)
- Gramophone Shop Varieties (client imprint)
- Hollywood 1936–1937 (client label)
- Homestead +1929 to approximately 1931 (mail order label later acquired by Crown Records)
- Hot Record Society (client imprint)
- Jewel +1929 to about 1932
- Liberty Music Shops (client label)
- Lincoln +1929–1930
- Master 1937
- Mel-O-Dee (specialized jukebox label) 1931
- Melotone +1932–1938
- Oriole +1929–1938 (client label for McCrory Stores)
- Paramount +1932 to roughly 1934 (final pressings in series)
- Pathé +1929–1930
- Perfect +1929–1938
- Regal +1929–1931
- Romeo +1929–1938 (client label for Kress Stores)
- Shamrock Stores (client imprint)
- Supertone +1930 to about 1931 (Sears client; scarce series predating ARC’s Brunswick acquisition)
- U.H.C.A. (specialty reissue label through Commodore)
- Variety 1937
- Vocalion +1932–1938 (leased from Warner Bros. Pictures)