Australian Record Company

The Australian Record Company (ARC) was a record label and manufacturer later acquired by CBS Records International.

Originally known as Featuradio, a company formed in 1933 by George Sutton and his brother-in-law James M. Sayer. They sold the business in 1936, and Sutton continued to work there until it became The Australian Record Company (ARC) in 1938.[1] At the time, ARC shared a studio with radio station 2GB in Sydney and produced transcription discs for radio broadcast,[2] and later began pressing and distributing records.[3] They created original radio programmes directed by Gordon Grimsdale.[4]

In 1949, ARC started two new labels, Rodeo and Pacific. Rodeo released music by Reg Lindsay and recordings of Tex Morton. Pacific produced local versions of pop songs from Capitol Records,[5] but stopped when in 1951 ARC purchased the rights to distribute London Records and Capitol Records catalogue in Australia. They later sold its rights to Capitol to EMI.[6]

In 1953 The Australian Record Company became The Australian Record Company Limited, and released the first 10" LP and first 45 RPM record in Australia.[3] They acquired the license to press records from the US Columbia Records, and did so under the name Coronet.[3]

ARC was the largest record company in Australia in 1960 and employed 167 people at the time.[7] That year, ARC were acquired by CBS Records International and changed their name to CBS Records Australia in 1977. By the end of the 1980s, the company had become Sony Music Australia, and later Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) Limited.[3]

References
  1. "1930s - Another Depression and A Long Fight for Survival". Suttons The House of Music - The Evolution of an Australian Music Business. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  2. Nugent, Craig. "Australian Transcription History". Australian Old Time Radio. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  3. Bull, Barry; Yorke, Ritchie (2001). A Little Bull Goes a Long Way: Business Notes from the Music Man. Pennon Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-877029-01-1.
  4. James, Reg (2015-10-20). A Theatre in my Mind. Fontaine Press Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-1-925341-63-8.
  5. Walker, Clinton. "VINYL AGE, PART 1: PRE-ROCK". Clinton Walker. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  6. Goldschmied, Jason. "A Battle Royal : Digital Music Piracy v. the Music Industry, an Assessment of Australian Copyright Law". Bond University Research Portal. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  7. Col. Buys Major Aussie Disk Firm. Billboard. 1960-05-16. p. 4.

General references

Australian Record Company discography at Discogs (1938 to 1953)

Australian Record Company discography at Discogs (1953 to 1977)

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