US Record Mfg Corp

U.S. record company, 1920 - ca. 1922. USRMC was incorporated in May 1920 by Victor Hugo Emerson and was run by former executives and engineers from several other companies, including Emerson, Columbia and Edison. It is not known whether the company operated its own recording studios, and pressing operations were shared with Emerson Phonograph Company Inc. in Long Island City, NY. In addition to handling production for Emerson Phonograph Company Inc. and several outside clients, USRMC also produced several short-lived labels of its own. These include Rialto (6), Apollo (23), Emerald and Hits (14) (the apparent flagship label of the company). Recordings pressed on these labels have a unique master-numbering bring system, consisting of 5-, 8- and 10-prefixed series. It seems probable that they were commissioned from Emerson studios, but no master exchanges between Emerson and USRMC labels have been discovered. Although the plant was in operation by the autumn of 1920, production of USRMC labels appears to be mainly restricted to 1921. By that year's end the labels appear to have been discontinued, and USRMC closed in early 1922.