RCA Red Seal is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by

Sony Music Entertainment 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 ...

History

Feodor Chaliapin - Song of the Flea - Victor 14901B

The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Label scans of some of the first Red Seal records
issued in St. Petersburg circa early 1902, showing explicit use of the words "Red Seal". Accessed 9 November 2016. Later in 1902 the practice was adopted by the home office in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which preferred to refer to the records as "Red Labels", and by its

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

affiliate, the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

, in 1903. Led by the great Italian tenor

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...

, then just at the beginning of his worldwide fame, Victor Red Seal records changed the public's valuation of recorded music. Caruso's first records, made by the Gramophone Company in Milan, Italy in 1902, earned prestige as well as profits for the company and its affiliates. Five of Caruso's Milan records were issued by Victor on the Red Seal label in the United States in March, 1903 and soon other famous

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

stars and classical instrumentalists were attracted to the studios of both Victor and the Gramophone Company, consolidating the positions of these firms as the market leaders in the field of serious music by famous artists. The first Red Seal discs recorded by Victor in the United States were of the Australian

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

Ada Crossley on April 30, 1903. In 1950, RCA Victor began issuing vinyl microgroove LPs (originally introduced by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1948), because they were losing artists and sales due to the company's resistance to adopting the new format.

References

External links

Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (University of California, Santa Barbara)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rca Red Seal Records American record labels Record labels established in 1902 Classical music record labels RCA Records

History

See also

References

External links