Bellaccord Electro, generally known as Bellaccord, was the largest record label in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

existing in 1931–1950, then renamed. Revenue: $2.2 Million (2023)

History

The label was founded in 1931 by Helmars Rudzitis, owner of the publishing house ''Grāmatu Draugs'' (Friend of the book), who organized recording and pressing facilities in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

at Kalnciema ielā, 40 (the building still exists). A subsidiary pressing facility was organized in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. The company was nationalized in October 1940, after the annexation of Latvia by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. However the new director, Jēkabs Riekstiņš, soon hired the former owner to manage the factory. Records pressed during this period were marked by letters "N. U." (Nationalized enterprise) in the upper part of labels. Since May 21, 1941, the factory was planned to be renamed to ''Latvijas skaņuplašu fabrika'' (Latvian factory of gramophone records), however there is no evidence that this decision had been implemented before

became occupied by German troops in July. Under the German administration, the factory was re-privatized on March 1, 1942, and returned to Helmars Rudzitis. It was operating until 1944. After the return of Soviet authorities, the factory was re-opened in April 1945 and kept using the original Bellaccord's name until 1949 (since 1948 — without the word ''Electro'' on the labels). In 1950 it was renamed ''Rīgas skaņuplašu fabrika'' / ''Рижский завод грампластинок'' (i.e. Riga's gramophone records factory), then ''Baltija'' (1957), ''Līgo'' (1958–61) and finally ''Melodija'' (1961–64). In 1964, almost all Soviet recording and pressing facilities were united under the umbrella label ''Мелодия'' (''

Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...

''), however names of particular factories (including Riga's one) remained on the labels, although in small print. After the break-up of the USSR, the Riga's factory became owned by

Alexander Kutikov Alexander Viktorovich Kutikov (; 13 April 1952 in Moscow) is a Soviet/Russian rock musician, composer, producer, and businessman. Biography Kutikov was born in a Russian-Jewish family in Patriarshiye Ponds, Moscow. He was a fan of groups such a ...

's company '' Sintez Records'' and renamed '' RiTonis'' (1992). The last record was issued in 1993. Bankrupted in 1999.

Indirect descendants

In mid-1950s, a series of 100 Bellaccord Electro records was reissued under the original label in USA and Australia. As a commemoration to pre-WWII Estonian branch of the Bellaccord Electro, in 1958–1972 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, there was a label

Bellacord Bellaccord Electro, generally known as Bellaccord, was the largest record label in Latvia existing in 1931–1950, then renamed. Revenue: $2.2 Million (2023) History The label was founded in 1931 by Helmars Rudzitis, owner of the publishing ...

(spelled with one "c") specializing in ethnical Estonian music.

References

External links

Evolution of the Bellaccord Electro and Riga's factory label design in 1945–-1952

Collection of Bellaccord Electro records in the Latvian National Digital Library

Collection of Bellaccord Electro records in www.russian-records.com
{{Authority control Latvian record labels Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union Music companies of Latvia Music publishing companies of Latvia