Compo Company Ltd. was Canada's first independent record company.
The Compo Company was founded in 1918 in
Lachine, Quebec, by Herbert Berliner, an executive of
Berliner Gramophone of Canada and the oldest son of disc record inventor
Emile Berliner.
Compo was created to serve the several American independent record companies which wanted to distribute records in Canada, such as
Okeh Records
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
. Its initial business was pressing records in Canada for these companies. Herbert Berliner broke with Berliner Gramophone in 1921, taking several senior Berliner Gramophone executives with him. This allowed Compo to immediately expand into a full-fledged record company by establishing the
Sun and
Apex record labels, among others. Apex was the longest lasting of the Compo labels, lasting into the 1970s.
Compo was one of only two Canadian record companies to survive the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
RCA Victor Records of Canada—formerly
Berliner Gramophone—was the other (it is currently the oldest Canadian label that forms part of
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
in Canada).
Warner Bros. Records used Compo as its Canadian distributor
Billboard - Google Books
Books.google.com (1965-08-21). Retrieved on 2013-07-16. until it established its own Canadian branch in 1967. That branch later became Warner Music Canada.
In 1935, Compo became the Canadian licensee for the American Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
. American Decca bought Compo in 1951 with Berliner staying on as president until his death in 1966. MCA Inc. acquired Compo when it acquired American Decca. Compo was renamed MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
(Canada) in 1970. The company eventually evolved into Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...
Canada.
See also
* Music of Canada
* Apex Records (Canada)
Apex Records was a Canadian record label owned by the Compo Company which lasted as late as 1980.
Compo established the Apex label in July 1921 in Toronto. It released American recordings from Okeh Records and Gennett Records, among others. It al ...
References
External links
Compo Company article in The Canadian Encyclopedia
{{Authority control
Defunct record labels of Canada
Record labels established in 1918
Universal Music Group