Legacy Recordings is an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

that is a division of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. In 2004, under the

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

joint venture, the label began to manage the archives of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

, Windham Hill Records, Arista, LaFace, Jive, and Buddah Records. Legacy Recordings also distributes Philadelphia International Records and the catalog of recordings produced by

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

. It is not related to the defunct British independent label Legacy Records.

Reissues/The Essential Series

''The Essential Series'' are one- or two-disc compilations of an artist's extensive catalog. On occasion, certain albums in this series would include a limited edition third disc (labeled ''Essential'' ''3.0''), or be revised to include an artist's newer work (for example ''

The Essential Bob Dylan ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' is a compilation by Bob Dylan, released in 2000 as the inaugural entry in Sony Music's "The Essential" double-disc series. ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' spans from 1963's " Blowin' in the Wind" (from '' The Freewheelin' ...

).'' , several volumes in the ''Essential'' series are available on vinyl LP. Launched in 2009, ''Playlist'' is a series of single-disc compilation albums based on artists' best studio work during their time on one of the Sony labels (for example, the

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

''Playlist'' only contains tracks from the BANG Records sessions), serving as a successor to the previous ''Super Hits'' series and a less expensive alternative to the ''Essential'' series. A spinoff series, ''Setlist'', features compilations of artists' live performances. The first several albums came in a special eco-packet and to save paper, a PDF file was included on the disc, containing photographs, credits and liner notes. This was met with criticism, because the discs were easily scratched. Later ''Playlist'' albums were packaged in standard white jewel cases.

References

External links

Official Site USOfficial Site UKCompany BlogPodcast Site
{{Authority control American jazz record labels Reissue record labels Pop record labels Record labels established in 1990 Rock record labels Sony subsidiaries Sony Music

Reissues/The Essential Series

See also

References

See also

External links