Columbia Records (Columbia Records, Inc., not for release label use! company owned by Sony Music Entertainment, only use for manufacturing/distribution and copyright holding)

The immediate predecessor of Columbia Records—before even Columbia Broadcasting Systems (CBS, Inc.) became its parent—was American Record Corporation (ARC), which had owned the Columbia imprint and its catalog between 1934–1938. In Dec 1938, CBS, Inc. acquired ARC and the deal was finalized on Jan 1, 1939, whereupon ARC was renamed Columbia Recording Corporation. It was later to be known as Columbia Records and, since the early 1960s, became part of the newly formed CBS Records, Inc. which began to distribute its releases internationally on its own (under the Columbia and CBS imprints). More of Columbia Records’ early history here.

Sony Corporation of America would eventually acquire CBS Records, Inc. in 1988, and rechristen it as Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. on Jan 1, 1991.