Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Music Group, an American division of multinational conglomerate Sony. Founded in 1889, Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business,[1][2][3] and the second major company to produce records.[4] It is one of Sony Music’s four flagship record labels, along with Epic Records and longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records. RCA and Arista were originally owned by BMG until Sony’s acquisition at the end of their merger in 2008.
