Hungaroton is the oldest
record and music publisher company in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.
Hungaroton was founded in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
,
when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like
Melodiya,
Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Previously called
Qualiton, its name was changed to Hungaroton in the mid-1960s, though the Qualiton brand remained as a label for
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
and
gypsy music releases. Also new popular music, rock and jazz labels (Pepita, Bravó, and Krém) were founded.
In the early 1990s the massive import of foreign records caused a serious decrease in Hungaroton's sales. Although the original company went into liquidation, new and smaller companies arose on the ruins of Hungaroton. The Hungaroton Gong and Hungaroton Classic companies went private in 1995, and were reunited in 1998 under the name Hungaroton Records Publisher Ltd.
Nowadays it publishes approximately 150 new records per year, half of it
classical and half of it
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
.
See also
*
List of record labels
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File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
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Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, ...
References
External links
*
Hungarian record labels
Hungarian brands
Record labels established in 1951
Classical music record labels
Pop record labels
Companies based in Budapest
1951 establishments in Hungary
State-owned record labels
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