Fonit Cetra was an Italian

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, active between 1957 and 2000.

History

Fonit Cetra was founded in 1957 from merging two already existing labels:

Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek language, Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing i ...

(acronym from Compagnia per edizioni, teatro, registrazioni ed affini), owned by

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

and previously

EIAR Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR, "Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting") was the public service broadcaster in Fascist Italy and the only entity permitted to broadcast by the government. History The company was established in 1 ...

, and (acronym from Fonodisco Italiano Trevisan), founded in 1911 in Milan. Both labels had already been popular, thanks to such artists as

Nilla Pizzi Nilla Pizzi, stage name of Adionilla Pizzi (; 16 April 1919 – 12 March 2011), was an Italian singer and actress. Born in Sant'Agata Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She won the first edition of the ...

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and

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

. Fonit Cetra continued to use two old names on their records and maintained two different offices, in Turin and Milan, until the 1970s, when the main headquarters were relocated to Milan. In July 1987, the company's name was changed to Nuova Fonit Cetra. In 1997, it became part of RAI Trade, however, in 1998, it was sold to

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

which acquired its catalogue. Among the artists who have recorded for Fonit Cetra, were

Claudio Villa Claudio Villa (born Claudio Pica; 1 January 1926 – 7 February 1987) was an Italian singer and actor. Biography Tenor Claudio Villa was born Claudio Pica in the Trastevere quarter of Rome in 1926. He recorded over 3000 songs, sold 45 millio ...

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Marco Armani Marco Armani, stage name of Marco Antonio Armenise (born 14 June 1961), is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. Background Born in Bari, while still being a student at the conservatory of his hometown, in 1982 Armani debuted as a singer p ...

New Trolls New Trolls are an Italian progressive rock band, known for their fusion of rock and European classical music, classical music. In a way not too dissimilar from fellow prog-rock band Yes (band), Yes, their history is filled with line-up changes, ...

Patty Pravo Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli on 9 April 1948) is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the followin ...

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Gipo Farassino Giuseppe "Gipo" Farassino (11 March 1934 – 11 December 2013) was an Italian singer, songwriter, musician and politician. Biography As a songwriter Farassino produced more than 30 albums and virtually 50 singles. Most of his songs were in Pie ...

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Mietta Daniela Miglietta (born 12 November 1969 in Taranto, Italy) is an Italian singer, actress and novelist. She has released 11 albums in total. Biography In 1988 she took part in the Sanremo Music Festival in the ''New comers'' category with '' ...

Loretta Goggi Loretta Goggi ( born 29 September 1950) is an Italian singer, actress, comedian and TV host. Goggi is also an acclaimed singer and her records have sometimes entered the Italian pop charts. She was the first runner-up at the 1981 ''Festival del ...

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), better known as Raffaella Carrà (), was an Italian singer, dancer, television presenter, actress and model. She was well known in Europe and Latin America as a result of her many ...

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Luca Barbarossa Luca Barbarossa (born 15 April 1961, Rome) is an Italian singer-songwriter who has released 12 albums since 1981, and is known for his participation in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career In 1980, Barbarossa won the Castrocaro Music ...

Michele Zarrillo Michele Zarrillo (born 13 June 1957) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is mainly known for hits such as "Una rosa blu" (A blue rose), "Cinque giorni" (Five days), L'elefante e la farfalla (The elephant and the butterfly) and "La notte dei pens ...

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Gino Paoli Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934 in Monfalcone) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: " Il cielo in una stanza", "Che cosa ...

, ,

Renzo Arbore Lorenzo Giovanni "Renzo" Arbore (; born 24 June 1937) is an Italian television host, singer, actor and film director. Career Arbore became nationally recognized as radio anchor man, together with Gianni Boncompagni, in the late 1960s, with ...

Nancy Cuomo Maria Cuomo (born 9 May 1946), best known as Nancy Cuomo, is an Italian singer and producer. Life and career Born in Piedimonte d'Alife (now called Piedimonte Matese), in the Province of Caserta, Campania, Cuomo started performing in a beat band ...

Rosa Balistreri Rosa Balistreri (21 March 1927 – 20 September 1990) was an Italian singer and musician. Her hoarse voice charged with melancholy and strong personality made her a Sicilian icon of the twentieth century, much like the writer Leonardo Sciasci ...

, and

Maria Carta Maria Carta (24 June 1934 – 22 September 1994) was a Sardinian folk music singer-songwriter. She also performed in film and theatre. In 1975 she wrote a book of poetry, ''Canto rituale'' (Ritual Song). Throughout her 25-year career she cove ...

References

{{Authority control Italian record labels Pop record labels Record labels established in 1957 Record labels disestablished in 2000