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His Master's Voice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the entertainment retailer, see HMV. For other uses, see His Master's Voice (disambiguation).

His Master's Voice
Owner
  • Talisman Brands, Inc. (United States, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Indonesia, South Korea and Uruguay)
  • Hilco Capital (United Kingdom, Australia, Brunei, European Union, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Namibia, Norway, Switzerland, Sudan and New Zealand)
  • Victor Entertainment (Japan)
  • HMV Brand Pte Ltd. (Singapore, China, Malaysia and Taiwan)
  • Palm Green Capital Limited (Albania, Bahrain, Estonia, India, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Oman, Serbia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Ukraine)

His Master's Voice is a painting by Francis Barraud that depicts a dog named Nipper listening to a wind-up disc gramophone whilst tilting his head, created in 1899.[1]

In December 1899, the painting was sold to William Barry Owen of London's Gramophone Company (later EMI), who would adopt the name and imagery on its music releases, later re-establishing it as a retail chain and its own record label. The Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA), the American affiliate of the Gramophone Company, also adopted the name and imagery on its music releases from 1901.[2]

With EMI and RCA both eventually operating outside of their respective United Kingdom and United States, the His Master's Voice painting then became a world-renowned trademark, featured on music releases, retail stores and equipment worldwide. Some international divisions would be divested, leading to 'His Master's Voice' as a brand to be fragmented.[3]

His Master's Voice (Music Award EMI-Bovema)

History

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The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a dog named Nipper listening to a wind-up disc gramophone and tilting his head.[4] In the original, unmodified 1898 painting, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph.[5]

In early 1899, Francis Barraud applied for copyright of the original painting using the descriptive working title Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph. He was unable to sell the work to any cylinder phonograph company.[citation needed] The painting had been originally offered to James Hough, manager of Edison-Bell in London, but he declined, saying "dogs don't listen to phonographs".[citation needed] William Barry Owen, the American founder of the Gramophone Company in England, offered to purchase the painting for £100, under the condition that Barraud modify it to show one of their disc machines.[6] Barraud complied and the image was first used on the company's catalogue from December 1899. As the trademark gained in popularity, several additional copies were subsequently commissioned from the artist for various corporate purposes.[7]

In 1967, EMI converted the HMV label into an exclusive classical music label and dropped its POP series of popular music. HMV's pop series artists' roster was moved to Columbia Graphophone and Parlophone and licensed American pop record deals to Stateside Records.[8]

In the 1970s, an award was created with a copy of the statue of the dog and gramophone, His Master's Voice, cloaked in bronze, and was presented by EMI Records to artists, music producers, and composers in recognition of selling more than 1,000,000 records.[citation needed]

A coloured vinyl single released by HMV
Victor Talking Machine Company advertisement from 1921 with His Master's Voice trademark

In 1990, the globalised market for the compact disc resulted in EMI retiring the HMV label in favour of EMI Classics, a name that could be used worldwide; however, Morrissey's releases (distributed by EMI Records) would have His Master's Voice branding on until 1992.[citation needed]

In June 2003, the formal His Master's Voice trademark transfer took place from EMI Records to HMV Media Group plc.[9] In January 2013, HMV Group plc would later be rescued by Hilco Capital, who kept the His Master's Voice trademark rights.[10]

In January 2017, Warner Music Group launched Warner Classics digital efforts as 'Dog and Trumpet' due to not having the 'His Master's Voice' trademark rights.[11][12] Most reissues of former His Master's Voice-pop material previously controlled by EMI are now re-issued on Warner's Parlophone label.[13]

Use of "His Master's Voice"

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Current

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Retail

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  • HMV UK (Since 1921, "HMV" initials owned by JD Sports, and "His Master's Voice" owned by Hilco Capital).
  • HMV Ireland (Since 1986, "HMV" initials and "His Master's Voice" are both owned by Hilco Capital).
  • HMV Canada (Since 1986, "HMV" initials owned by Hilco Capital, but "His Master's Voice" is owned by Talisman Brands, Inc).
  • HMV Belgium (Since 2023, "HMV" initials and "His Master's Voice" are both owned by Hilco Capital).
  • HMV Japan (Since 1990, "HMV" initials are owned by Lawson).

Sound equipment and recording labels

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Former

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Retail

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  • HMV Australia (1989–2010, "HMV" initials and "His Master's Voice" are both owned by Hilco Capital).
  • HMV Germany (1990s–2000s, "HMV" initials and "His Master's Voice" are both owned by Hilco Capital).
  • HMV Hong Kong and HMV Singapore (1990s–2010s, "HMV" initials and "His Master's Voice" are both owned by HMV Brand Pte Ltd).
  • HMV Middle East (2015–2022, "HMV" initials are owned by Al Mana Lifestyle Trading in Oman and Qatar, but by Palm Green Capital Limited in United Arab Emirates.
  • HMV United States (1990s–2000s, "His Master's Voice" is owned by Talisman Brands, Inc).

Sound equipment and recording labels

Advertisement for "His Master's Voice" gramophones in the Dutch East Indies, 1930s

References

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  1. ^ "Francis Barraud & Nipper". London Remembers. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  2. ^ Meador, Granger (5 December 2023). "Remembering His Master's Voice". MEADOR.ORG. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ audiopolitan (21 June 2013). "His Master's Voice". audiopolitan. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  4. ^ Sommese, Andrea; Miklósi, Ádám; Pogány, Ákos; Temesi, Andrea; Dror, Shany; Fugazza, Claudia (2022). "An exploratory analysis of head-tilting in dogs". Animal Cognition. 25 (3): 701–705. doi:10.1007/s10071-021-01571-8. PMC 9107419. PMID 34697669.
  5. ^ Wetzel, Corryn, Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? New Study Offers Clues, Smithsonian, 3 November 2021
  6. ^ Rye, Howard (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 249. ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
  7. ^ "The Nipper Saga". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2006.
  8. ^ Billboard. 1967. Retrieved 28 February 2013 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Trade Mark Details as at 28 February 2013: HMV Group plc". Patent.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  10. ^ Butler, Sarah (28 January 2013). "HMV next for Hilco – restructuring expert that preys on dying brands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Gramophone". reader.exacteditions.com. May 2017. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Claude Debussy – Vladimir Horowitz: Complete HMV Recordings 1930–1951". Warner Classics. 12 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018.
  13. ^ "At Abbey Road". Amazon.

Further reading

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  • Barnum, Fred (1991). His Master's Voice in America.
  • Southall, Brian (1996). The Story of the World's Leading Music Retailer: HMV 75, 1921–1996.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Nipper (category)
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