[78-L] Columbia Record DIscography

[Chris Zwarg]

At 17:06 10.11.2008, you wrote:
>According to the data you gave in this list, this recording was from 1908, Mexico City.
>A Victor discography states that the same band, recorded the same piece, in 1907, so I am wondering...
>Is it possible that Victor sold the recording to Columbia Records in order to market it outside USA?

Nope, certainly not! If there are two companies in this world that NEVER shared/exchanged masters, it's Columbia and Victor!! Victor of course had their own South-American catalogue; and if they wanted their version sold elsewhere (Europe, Asia) it would have been on HMV.

It it very common to find the same repertoire on competing firms (like Col. and Vic. in our example) however - each of them seems to have looked carefully what the other was doing, and were usually quick to add titles that sold well on other labels to their own catalogue as well. As exclusive contracts were rare except for some opera stars, you might even find the same artist doing the same pieces for several companies - in Germany (with its myriad of small labels) we have examples of a singer performing the same half-dozen titles for three different studios *on the same day*.

Chris Zwarg