Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft (DGAG) was a German record company that traded under that name from 1900 until 1937. In 1932, the Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft went bankrupt, and its mother company, the older Polyphonwerke AG, renamed itself Deutsche Grammophon Aktiengesellschaft. Originally, the DG was founded in 1898 as Deutsche Grammophon GmbH by the brothers Emile, Jacob and Joseph Berliner in Hanover. In the beginning, recordings were made in London by the The Gramophone Co. Ltd.. The masters were then shipped to Hanover where the DGAG pressed the records. On June 27, 1900, the company was reorganized as a joint stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft). Shares were owned jointly by Deutsche Grammophon AG, Orpheus Musikwerke GmbH, Leipzig, and The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The latter company soon acquired all the shares. The administrative headquarters of the company and it gramophone production were transferred to Markgrafenstraße 76 in Berlin. That site also included a recording studio. In 1903 the DGAG bought out its recent competitor International Zonophone Company, Berlin, and divided its record production into an upper-price bracket (with the "Recording Angel" logo) and a lower-price bracket released as (Zonophone Record). Due to a lack of space, the record manufacturing plant in Hanover moved from Kniestraße to Podbielskistraße in 1904. In 1908, when the double-sided record was introduced, the plant reached an output of 6.2 million records a year with 200 pressing machines, the highest number before World War I. Some issues of Polyphon Musik and Deutsche Grammophon Aktiengesellschaft's common history: 1916: During World War I Deutsche Grammophon AG was split from its British mother, The Gramophone Co. Ltd., and confiscated by the German government as enemy property. 1917: On April 24, the German company Polyphon Musikwerke AG, based in Leipzig, acquired the Deutsche Grammophon AG from the German government. 1918: Deutsche Grammophon and Polyphon-Musikwerke were traded as Polyphonwerke AG, and Berlin became the main headquarter. The company was called Polyphon-Grammophon-Konzern. The German company and its former British owner, The Gramophone Co. Ltd., fought over the continued use of the Nipper Dog trademark. 1919: An Austrian subsidiary, Polyphon Sprechmaschinen und Schallplatten GmbH, was established in Vienna. 1920: A Danish subsidiary, Nordisk Polyphon Aktieselskab, was established in Copenhagen. 1921: A Swedish subsidiary, Nordisk Polyphon AB, was established in Stockholm. 1924: Deutsche Grammophon AG was again allowed to use the Nipper dog trademark for its Grammophon label inside Germany. In response, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. founded the new Electrola label so they could continue to distribute their records on the German market. Abroad, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. enjoyed the rights to the Nipper trademark, so the Polyphon-Grammophon-Konzern began to use the Polydor label, established in 1913, together with the older Polyphon Musik for international markets. 1927: A French subsidiary, Société Phonographique Française Polydor S.A., was established in Paris. 1932: The Polyphonwerke companies, the Deutsche Grammophon AG and the Kraft Behrens GmbH, both were liquidated. Only the Polyphonwerke AG remained in existence. As a result, Polyphonwerke AG was renamed into Deutsche Grammophon Aktiengesellschaft. The label name Polyphon remained in use for several decades until the 1990's. The Polydor label still exists as both as a mainstream label and a as record company; now it is owned by Universal Music Group. 1937: The DGAG was again liquidated and reorganized to become Deutsche Grammophon GmbH. The other financial owners, Deutsche Bank and Telefunken Gesellschaft, received exactly 50% of the production lines and an ownership of 45% of the new company. Their label Deutsche Grammophon, founded in 1948, still exists today. Use Deutsche Grammophon GmbH (1938-present) where it appears as such, or a variation of that name (for instance Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft mbH.) Use Deutsche Grammophon Hamburg where it appears as Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg or Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, Hamburg, or a variation. Use Deutsche Grammophon where Deutsche Grammophon or Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft is used as label. Use Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft where the Deutsche Grammophon or Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft trademark is used for a company credit. Use Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft (1900-1937), where it appears as such, or a variation of that name (for instancel Deutsche Grammophon AG.) Use Deutsche Grammophon G.M.B.H. Hannover where it appears as such. For lacquer cut & pressing roles, there is Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft Pressing Plant (1945-1972), this name will not appear on any record, but can be derived from the runouts.