EMI

The EMI logo

EMI was a music company founded in London. It is in charge of a record label, EMI Music. EMI is one of the "big four" record labels; the labels not part of the "big four" are called independent. It started in 1931, when it was called "Electric and Music Industries". In 1957, it took over Capitol Records, an American record company.

In 1962, The Beatles signed a contract with EMI's Parlophone Records, and they became the company's most successful musicians. The Beatles made nearly all their recordings at Abbey Road Studios, EMI's main recording studios in London.

In 1992, EMI bought Virgin Records, which had been owned by Richard Branson. It almost bought Universal Records in 1998, also. In 2007, EMI was taken over by a group called Terra Firma, after it said no to a bid from Warner Music Group.

Other famous musicians that were with EMI include Prince, Pink Floyd, Spice Girls, and Coldplay.

In 2012, Universal Music Group bought EMI, but the European Commission told Universal to sell some of EMI's record labels. Parlophone, the oldest EMI label, was sold to Warner Music Group; while BMG bought Mute Records. EMI's music publishing business was sold to a group that included Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

EMI Media

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  EMI's former building in London. The building is now owned by Warner Music UK.

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  Trade ad of congratulations to the Beatles for their 1964 Grammys.

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  Gold and silver discs issued by EMI in 1982 for Queen's Greatest Hits.

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  The first post-war British television camera was the CPS Emitron. First used for the 1948 Olympic Games in London, this camera continued in service until the late 1950s. The example here, shown with its control equipment, dates from 1950 and has a different design of casing to the first production models. Daily Herald Archive at the National Media Museum

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  Production H2S radar display screen unit as flown during World War 2

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  First commercially available CT scanner made by EMI

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  Photomultiplier 9781A EMI with voltage divider. Manufactured in Great Britain.

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  An EMI portable reel-to-reel tape recorder. Made in England in 1954. Used by the Greek National Radio.

Other websites

• EMI website