Herbert S. Berliner

(1882-1966) Canadian record executive and eldest son of inventor Emile Berliner. Founder of The Compo Company Ltd. Canada's first independent record label and revolutionized the sound recording industry in Canada, making it possible for Canadian artists to produce and record albums in their own country. An innovator throughout his life, he was determined to always release the best possible quality audio recordings and worked tirelessly to develop unique methods of record pressing. Berliner began his career working for his father, gramophone inventor Emile Berliner, in the family run business, the Berliner Gramophone Company. In 1909, he was appointed Vice President and General Manager of the family company and in 1916, through the company’s subsidiary His Master’s Voice, he released an Anglophone record series, HMV 216000, soon followed by a Francophone series, HMV 263000, promoting Canadian artists. In April 1921, Herbert left the Berliner Gramophone Company and, along with several of his colleagues, began working as President of Compo, a company he founded in 1918. Compo went on to become Canada’s premier independent record pressing company, rivalling the Berliner Gramophone Company.