MGM Records (Label)

Label Code: LC 0269 / LC 00269.
American label MGM Records, or MGM (short for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), was launched in 1946 by Loew's, Inc.
MGM Records is a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.

For all Unofficial / Bootleg releases, please use MGM Records.

Common variations: M-G-M, M. G. M, M.G.M., M⸝G⸝M, M·G·M

Key owners / parent companies: Loew's Incorporated (1946—1959) | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. (1959—c. 1971) | PolyGram (1972—'75) | Polydor (1975—1982)
Current label owner according to GVL: Universal Music Entertainment GmbH (company not in Discogs).
Current re-issue rightsholders:
>>Soundtracks: Rhino Records (2) via Rhino Movie Music. Preceded by MCA Records (1986) and CBS Special Products (1982—'86).
>>Pop and Country: Island Records via Polydor, Mercury, and Mercury Nashville
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Throughout its history, MGM used several format prefixes, center label designs, and typefaces that allow approximate dating of the releases.

CATALOG NO'S PREFIXES

US 45 RPM prefixes
K: 7" singles, 1949—Feb 1974
M: 7" singles, Feb '74—1976
X: 7" EPs
SK: Stereo 'Special Edition' 7" singles, 1959—??
KGC: Golden Circle 7" singles, 1956—??

LP prefixes
E: Mono LPs, 1953—approx. 1958
E/SE: "faux"/re-channeled Stereo LPs, 1958—?? (often in Mono jackets with an attached sticker)
SE: Stereo LPs, 1959—'74
CH: Mono Children's
CHS: Stereo Children's

Stereo LPs (since 1974)
M3
MG
MB
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METROLITE NON-BREAKABLE 78 RPM 10" singles
From circa 1947 till approx. 1956, M-G-M pressed some 78 RPM 10" records on a proprietary vinyl formulation called "Metrolite." (Around the time, many competing labels marketed similar types of "non-breakable" materials: Decca's Deccalite, Mercury's Merco Plastic, or Savoy's Sav-o-flex). If the center label reads METROLITE Non-Breakable (typically with a caption 'Under Normal Use' printed below, or with an ® symbol)—please use Vinyl as the 'Format' and mention it in 'Release Notes' when submitting. If the 'Metrolite' isn't mentioned, the format is most likely Shellac.

Example
Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys - Dear John / Cold, Cold Heart

Quick Reference
Format: Vinyl (in the "dropdown" list)
Size: 10"
Speed: 78 RPM
Free Text: Do Not include 'Metrolite'

In case both shellac and Metrolite/vinyl pressings exist, submit them separately (within the same Master Release).
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CENTER LABELS

1940-'59: 1st-generation—"black-on-yellow" with inverted M〜G〜M and "contoured" lion's head.
1959-'68: 2nd-generation—"silver-on-black" with rainbow M⸝G⸝M and full-colored "movie"-style lion's head.
1968-'82: 3rd-generation—"blue-and-gold" yin-yang with a blue MGM Records logo and black "modernized Leo" lion's head.

Bottom-rim text
Until approx. Oct 1960: M-G-M Records–A Division Of Loew's Incorporated–Made in U.S.A.

In 1952, Loew's Incorporated was required to divest itself of the MGM studio and "spin it off" into its own new company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., as a result of the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Supreme Court ruling. Because of Loew's' elaborate corporate structure, however, the separation process didn't finalize until late 1959.

Oct '60—1971: M-G-M Records–A Division Of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.–Made in U.S.A.
The 'M-G-M' spelling later changed to M.G.M Records, and subsequently to MGM Records

May '72—approx. 1976 (after the PolyGram takeover): Manufactured by MGM Records, Inc., 7165 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif. 90046

1976—1982: Manufactured And Marketed By Polydor Incorporated/810 Seventh Avenue/New York, N.Y. 10019
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TYPEFACES
Variations in the center label's text—publishers, impressum, catalog and matrix numbers, and songwriters/personnel. Identifiable features include:

✪ Name Variations—e.g. Burdon versus E. Burdon or Eric Burdon (conventions could differ with 2-3 songwriters, longer/unusual names, etc.)
✪ Outline—whether the text is regular or bold
✪ Vertical Alignment—numbers/symbols printed closer to the top, center, or bottom edge of the hole (particularly for 7" singles/EPs with a 1½" hub).

Pressing Plants
◆ MGM Record Manufacturing Division in Bloomfield, NJ, used typeset from Pace Press, NYC: Surnames-only, text printed at the hole's lower edge—Example no. 1, No. 2
◇ Reverse Producers Corp. always had an explicit copyright, typically "Manuf'd by Reverse Producers Corporation." Alignment and typeface varied over the years—Example
◇ Monarch Record Mfg. Co. with typeset by Alco Research And Engineering, Co., Los Angeles, CA: Aligned to the center, full names (e.g. Bobby Hebb)—Example
◇ Southern Plastics, Nashville, TN: Text aligned to the center, different name variations (e.g. Ronald Blackwell but Gibson, or B. Crewe)—Example no. 1, No. 2
◇ H.V. Waddell Co. (pressed for MGM in 1950—'66), Burbank, CA: Text aligned to the bottom, only surnames (similar to Pace Press). Waddell pressings featured a thicker typeface and "bubble"-ish textured ink. Some editions had a "deepened" ring around center holes—Example no. 1, No. 2
◇ Midwest Record Pressing, Inc., Chicago, IL: Text aligned to the center, used full names; notable for narrow typeface—Example

In some instances, one release could have multiple pressings, e.g. MGM's New Jersey "domestic" plant, H.V. Waddell, Midwest Record Pressings, and Reverse Producers Corp.
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HISTORY
The label's output was originally soundtrack recordings from MGM movies (featuring the likes of Judy Garland, Jane Powell, and Gene Kelly) but quickly included other musical genres. One of the label's earliest stars was Hank Williams (from 1949 until 1953) as MGM had placed some emphasis on country and western music. As the 1950s progressed, MGM had signed a number of major talents including Conway Twitty, Billy Eckstine, Art Mooney, Joni James and Connie Francis (who would be the longest-serving artist on the label, recording from 1957 until 1973 but still releasing albums until the label's demise).

By 1953, MGM Records was considered a major label alongside Columbia, Mercury, Decca, Capitol and Coral. It launched the Cub subsidiary in 1956 and expanded into jazz by buying Verve Records from its founder Norman Granz in December 1960. It became the American distributor for Deutsche Grammophon in 1962 (losing those rights when Polydor opened its US branch in 1969), expanded Verve into rock (The Righteous Brothers, the The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention) and folk (Janis Ian, Richie Havens, Tim Hardin) music and became the distributor of Kama Sutra Records.

By the late 1960s, the label was beginning to experience many internal and sales problems (the studio's unrealistic sales goals for the label in spite of large numbers of unsold LPs winding up in the cut-out bins; the colossal failure of the Alan Lorber-created 1968-69 "Bosstown Sound" marketing campaign; contractual problems with unsuccessful producers; MGM's habitual censoring of music, sitting on finished masters and releasing albums without artist approval didn't help matters). MGM Records president Mike Curb infamously dropped eighteen poor-selling acts from the label, citing pro-drug lyrics in their music. This gave the future Lieutenant Governor of California a commendation from President Richard M. Nixon for his anti-drug stance. In this area, around 1970, the label was distributed and manufactured by Curb's 'Transcontinental Record Corporation', commonly abridged to TRC (2).

Curb righted the label's fortunes by giving it a more family entertainment-oriented focus, with The Osmonds becoming their biggest stars and by signing Petula Clark, Wayne Newton and Sammy Davis, Jr.; it also delved into the era's bubblegum pop (The Cowsills, Daddy Dewdrop), country (Hank Williams, Jr., Jim Stafford, C.W. McCall, Mel Tillis) and soul music (Lou Rawls, Johnny Bristol).

In May 1972, MGM's then-owner, hotel and real estate magnate Kirk Kerkorian sold the label to PolyGram, including a ten-year lease on the MGM logo and perpetual rights to the MGM Records name. In 1975, MGM Records was de-emphasized and all of the acts still signed to the label were transferred to Polydor, which had by then become its parent label; it soon became an outlet for MGM soundtrack album releases and back catalog reissues until the label was shut down for good in 1982. The reissue rights to the MGM film soundtracks were licensed to CBS Special Products in 1982 and were later passed on to MCA Records in 1986, where its releases of roughly 100 of them were the last vinyl LP versions; the rights to the classic MGM film soundtracks now reside with Rhino Records (2) which has been releasing restored and expanded CD versions on its Rhino Movie Music imprint in association with Turner Classic Movies. The MGM pop and country catalogs are currently managed by The Island Music Group via Polydor, Mercury Records, and Mercury Nashville, respectively.

Labels distributed by MGM
For much of its history, MGM distributed a number of smaller labels, many of which only lasted a couple of releases. A few exceptions include Kama Sutra (which became a sister label to Buddah Records in 1969); Andy Williams' Barnaby Records (a brief interim deal in 1973 as it was changing distribution from CBS to Janus) and Roy Acuff's Hickory Records (which switched distribution to ABC Records after a three-year period).