United Record

One of several Chicago-based brands made with oversized spindle holes, United was produced between 1909 and 1916 by Columbia for the United Talking Machine Co. Laterally recorded, they avoided patent infringement by only being playable on machines with outsized spindles, in this case 1 1/2". To avoid competition with the same recording on the Columbia label, the artists often had to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. In 1916, companies that marketed various related odd-spindle labels (United Talking Machine Co., Harmony Talking Machine Co., Standard Talking Machine Co., Aretino Co. and O'Neill-James Company) merged to form the Consolidated Talking Machine Company, Inc. of Chicago. This operation was unrelated to Eldridge R. Johnson's earlier Philadelphia-based company of the same name, Consolidated Talking Machine Company. At this time United Record, Harmony Disc Record, Standard Disc Record, Aretino Record and Busy Bee Record were discontinued and replaced by a single label, the Consolidated Record.