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Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talking Machine Company from 1899 to 1903. The name was subsequently acquired by Columbia Records, the Victor Talking Machine Company, and finally the Gramophone Company/EMI Records. It has been used for a number of record publishing labels by these companies.
 | |
| Company type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Recording industry |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Founder | Frank Seaman |
| Defunct | 1903 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Victor Talking Machine Company (immediate) EMI (1931–2013) Warner Music Group (2013–present) |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Products | Phonographs, phonograph records |
| Owner | Seaman, Eldridge R. Johnson, EMI, then Warner Music Group |
1899–1910s
editEmile Berliner, the inventor of the lateral-groove disc record and the Gramophone, formed a partnership with machinist Eldridge R. Johnson, who had improved Berliner's Gramophone to the point of marketability, and with former typewriter promoter Frank Seaman. Berliner was to hold the patents; Johnson had manufacturing rights; and Seaman had selling rights.[1]
1920s–1970s
edit
In West Africa (primarily today's Ghana and Nigeria) Zonophone was used as a label to record and produce Sakara, Juju and Apala music on 78 rpm discs from 1928 to the early 1950s.[2][3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Sutton, Allan (2018). American Record Companies and Producers 1888-1950. Mainspring Press. pp. 56–58. ISBN 978-0-9973333-3-6.
- ^ PAUL VERNON. Savannaphone. FolkRoots No.122.
- ^ John Collins. Musicmakers of West Africa. Lynne Rienner Publishers (1985) ISBN 0-89410-075-0
External links
edit- US Zonophone masters in the Discography of American Historical Recordings
- Regal Zonophone label profile
- Highlife Piccadilly: "African Music on 45 rpm records in the UK, 1954–1981" (19 May 1999). Ray Templeton
- Scans of British 78 rpm record labels: includes a large number of Zonophone & Regal-Zonophone labels.