His Master's Voice

His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer electronics, record labels, and entertainment retail.

The original His Master's Voice painting, alongside a number of duplicates painted by Barraud, are owned by the EMI Archive Trust charity that is based in Hayes, London.

History

The Gramophone Company / EMI /

HMV (United Kingdom-based)

In early 1899, Francis Barraud applied for copyright of his original 1898 painting using the descriptive working title ''Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph''. He was unable to sell the work to any cylinder phonograph company. The painting had been originally offered to James Hough, manager of Edison Bell in London, but he declined, saying "dogs don't listen to phonographs".

William Barry Owen, the American founder of the Gramophone Company in England, offered to purchase the painting for £100, under the condition that Barraud modify the cylinder phonograph to show one of their disc machines. Barraud complied and the image was first used on the company's catalogue from December 1899. The company also began using the imagery on its gramophones. As the trademark gained in popularity, several additional paintings were subsequently commissioned from the Barraud for various corporate purposes.

In 1909, The Gramophone Company began using the dog and gramophone trademark on its record labels, replacing the former "recording Angel" trademark. The company rapidly became known as His Master's Voice due to the prominence of that phrase around the top perimeter of the label. The Gramophone Company (HMV) distributed its recordings throughout Europe and later established dedicated international divisions in several countries. In regions without these divisions, such as Scandinavia and Greece, the British HMV company exported its releases.

The Gramophone Company created French and Italian versions called La Voix de son maître and La voce del padrone respectively after previously forming in these countries in 1901 and 1904.

In 1921, The Gramophone Company launched the His Master's Voice retail shop on Oxford Street. Additional shops appeared, turning His Master's Voice into a large music retail chain.

In 1925 and 1926, The Gramophone Company created record label divisions in Australia and New Zealand respectively. Through sales and mergers, the Gramophone Company became part of EMI in 1931.

Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, the Gramophone Company's German subsidiary, also used the "His Master's Voice" trademark and continued to do so after the company seceded from the parent Gramophone Company in 1914, as a result of the hostilities between Germany and Great Britain during World War I. DGG retained the "His Master's Voice" trademark for use in Germany until 1949.

In 1949, Deutsche Grammophon sold the German rights to the His Master's Voice trademark to Electrola, EMI's affiliated record label in Germany.

From the mid-1980s, EMI began to open international HMV retail outlets, but were unable to use the "His Master's Voice" trademark in the United States, Canada or Japan. However, EMI's use of just the "HMV" initials in these regions was permitted.

In 1985, The Gramophone Company India (formed in 1901) was sold from EMI to RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, however "His Master's Voice" would continue to appear as a record label under a license agreement from EMI, until 2003.

In 1990, EMI began to phase out the His Master's Voice record label, gradually replacing it with the EMI Classics label in 1993. In 1998, it divested the HMV retailer, which became an independent company, HMV Media Group plc. However, EMI held onto the His Master's Voice intellectual property, licensing the name to the retailer, and continuing it for its only remaining license in India.

In June 2003, the formal His Master's Voice trademark transfer took place from EMI Records to HMV Media Group plc. This meant that EMI's only remaining license agreement, the His Master's Voice record label in India, would be discontinued, and record releases in this region would be renamed to Saregama from 2003 onwards.

In January 2013, HMV Group plc would later be rescued by Hilco Capital, who retained the "His Master's Voice" trademark rights in a number of continents under the name "Mermaid (Brands) Limited" when they sold the HMV stores to Sunrise Records. The rightsholders in some territories is Palm Green Capital Limited, a company based in British Virgin Islands, instead of Hilco Capital.

In February 2013, HMV Group plc sold the HMV stores in Hong Kong and Singapore to AID Partners Capital Limited, which also included the rights to "His Master's Voice" and "HMV" for a select number of Asian countries, currently owned by HMV Brand Pte. Ltd.

Victor Talking Machine Company / RCA Victor (United States-based)

In July 1900, Emile Berliner, the inventor of the gramophone, registered the trademark in the United States after seeing the original painting at The Gramophone Company's offices in England.

The "His Master's Voice" trademark first appeared in the United States in advertising by the Consolidated Talking Machine Company, which was reorganized in 1901 as the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey. Victor was the American affiliate of British Gramophone Company and initially used the trademark more extensively on its products and in advertising than its affiliate in England.

In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, renaming it the RCA Victor Division and expanding the use of the trademark on radios, television sets and other electronics. However, it would begin to eventually be gradually phased out from the 1950s onwards on consumer electronics, in exchange for the RCA logo instead.

In 1968, RCA introduced a modern logo and limited the appearance of the "His Master's Voice" trademark to the album covers of RCA Red Seal Records. In October 1976, RCA announced a revival of the "His Master's Voice" trademark, restoring it to most RCA records labels, advertising and other products.

In 1986, the RCA Corporation was acquired by General Electric, and eventually sold the RCA and "His Master's Voice" trademarks to Technicolor SA. RCA Records was acquired by German media conglomerate, Bertelsmann, which continued to use the "His Master's Voice" and RCA Victor trademarks under license. In May 2022, the RCA and "His Master's Voice" trademarks were acquired by Talisman Brands, Inc.

Since 2023, Talisman Brands has licensed the "His Master's Voice" brand to a company called Victor Musical Industries Inc, who produce "His Master's Voice"-branded consumer electronics.

JVC /

Victor Entertainment / JVCKenwood (Japan-based)

In 1927, the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan was created, which brought the "His Master's Voice" trademark to Japan, and later became known as JVC, the Japan Victor Company. The company used "His Master's Voice" across a wide range of consumer electronics.

In 1943, JVC seceded from RCA due to the hostilities between Japan and the United States during World War II. The Japanese division became an independent company, retaining the "His Master's Voice" trademark for use in Japan.

In 1972, JVC created Victor Musical Industries, a distributor of music and film, which uses the "His Master's Voice" logo. Victor Musical Industries has since been renamed to Victor Entertainment, and the "His Master's Voice" logo remains retained.

In 1990, EMI launched the HMV retailer in Japan, however they were unable to use the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark due to JVC controlling it's use in that country. However, they were not contested to use just the initials, "HMV".

In October 2008, JVC and the Kenwood Corporation created a joint-venture, JVCKenwood, to create consumer electronics, this venture uses the "His Master's Voice" logo, mainly on audio equipment.

References

Further reading

* Barnum, Fred (1991). ''His Master's Voice in America''.
* Southall, Brian (1996). ''The Story of the World's Leading Music Retailer: HMV 75, 1921–1996''.

External links

Musée des ondes Emile Berliner

List of releases at 45worlds.com
*

Musée des ondes Emile Berliner – Montréal

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Symbols introduced in 1899
British advertising slogans
1890s neologisms
1890s quotations
Quotations from music
Dogs in art
1898 paintings