The combination of the two longest-established recorded music companies marks a turning point in the history of recorded sound.
The business ties between Zomba and BMG date back to the mid-1980s, and in 2002, Zomba labels Jive, the Provident Music Group and Verity all join the BMG Entertainment family.
J Records debuts, and its inaugural release is the multi-platinum debut of superstar Alicia Keys, Songs In A Minor. The album goes on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide.
The Bertelsmann Music Group is renamed BMG Entertainment.
Sony Corporation acquires CBS Records Group and forms Sony Music Entertainment.
With numerous key acquisitions that solidify its position in the U.S. entertainment market, Bertelsmann forms the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) with core labels RCA, Arista and Ariola.
Bertelsmann purchases RCA Records from General Electric. RCA brings with it a rich legacy of musical history and one of the largest repositories of American music, which includes works by Elvis Pre...
On October 1st, 1982 the first Compact Disc (CD) to be commercially manufactured — Billy Joel’s 52nd Street (Columbia) — rolls off an assembly line in Japan. Consumer Electronics giants Sony and Ph...
Jive Records, owned by the Zomba Label Group, opens for business and is distributed by Arista Records. Jive has big hits from the beginning with artists such as Billy Ocean, A Flock of Seagulls, an...
Bertelsmann AG expands into the U.S. market by acquiring Arista Records.
Arista Records is formed, and the next year earns its first Gold records with the soundtrack for Funny Lady, and such releases as Tony Orlando and Dawn’s Greatest Hits, Barry Manilow’s Tryin’ to Ge...
CBS Records Group forms a joint venture with Sony Corporation, known as CBS/Sony, for the purpose of marketing CBS product alongside Japanese recordings in Japan, Macao and Hong Kong.
The folk singer from Minnesota first galvanizes the protest music scene, and then abruptly shifts gears to a “personal” music that gives birth to generations of singer-songwriters, and much of rock...
Sam Cooke signs with RCA Records. Considered to be the very first modern soul singer, Cooke recorded a string of hits for RCA before his untimely death in 1964.
Columbia releases Kind of Blue, an early Miles Davis masterpiece and one of the iconic landmarks in jazz development in the 20th century. The album stars Davis’ first great quintet, with John Coltr...
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