“His Master’s Voice” is a trademark and the name of a record label previously known as the Gramophone Company.  The name came from an image of a painting by Francis Barraud and depicts a dog looking into a cylinder phonograph.  Columbia Records was an American record label founded in 1888 and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records.

It was on this day, November 30, 1931, that the record companies “His Master’s Voice” (Gramophone) & Columbia Records merged into EMI.  EMI is a British music company located in London.  It is the fourth-largest business group and record labels in the industry.  From the 1950s to the 1960s, EMI was the best-known and most successful recording company in the world as it represented groups such as The Beach Boys, The Shadows, The Hollies, and The Beatles as well as solo performers such as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.