Polydor Records Canada Limited

Canadian Polydor company formed in November 1966 by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH but commenced trading under the name Polydor Records Canada Limited on 1 November 1967 as manufacturer and distributor, as well as copyright holder for artists signed to the Canadian branch of Polydor. Head office was in Montreal with branch offices in Toronto and Vancouver, with an office in Quebec City added later. Also appeared as Polydor Records Ltd. and Polydor Ltd. (a.k.a. Polydor Ltée in French). History Prior to 1967 Polydor records were imported into Canada by Musimart Of Canada Ltd.. Until ca. 1968 they also manufactured the product for the Canadian branch, pressed at RCA Records Pressing Plant, Smiths Falls, Ontario. 1967 to 1978 - Polydor Records Canada Limited a.k.a. Polydor Ltd. (2) / Polydor Ltée 1978 to 1990 - PolyGram Inc. 1990 to 1991 - PolyGram Records of Canada Inc. / Les Disques Polygram Du Canada, Inc. 1992 onwards - PolyGram Group Canada Inc. • November 1967 launches as Canadian distributor of Polydor (plus its distributed indie labels at the time such as Tetragrammaton Records and Marmalade).Deutsche Grammophon (plus all of its sub-labels at the time such as Heliodor and Tip) distribution taken over Quality Records Limited. • January 1 1968 completes take over of Polydor from Musimart Of Canada Ltd.. • May 1968 Stereodyne Canada Limited contracted to manufacture all reel-to-reel, 8-track and cassette products with first releases starting in June. • November 1968 took over Canadian distribution of ABC Records from Sparton Of Canada Ltd.. In early 1971 ABC sued Polydor for breach of contract and moved distribution to RCA Limited. • January 1969 took over Canadian distribution of Island Records from Stone Records (7) until it went to Capitol Records (Canada) Ltd. in July 1972. • June 1969 became distributor for Trans-Canada product outside of Quebec and the Ottawa Valley. • October 1969 became Canadian distributor of Flying Dutchman until 1974 when it moved to RCA Limited. • Mid-to-late 1970 took over distribution of Blue Thumb Records from GRT until it went to Quality Records Limited in April 1972. • July 1970 became distributor of Van Records (2) until March 1974 when the label folded. • August 1970 took over Canadian distribution of Stax, Volt and subsidiaries such as Enterprise from Quality Records Limited. • March 1971 became Canadian distributor for Sire until 1974 when it moved to GRT Of Canada Ltd. Also became Canadian distributor of Perception Records (5), Today Records, Red Bullet, and Dwarf Records (2). • April 1971 became distributor of Astra Records Ltd's label Astra (7) until the label folded in late 1972. • August 1, 1971 launches Festival Of Hits series with vinyl pressed in Germany by Deutsche Grammophon. • January 1972 became Canadian distributor of Sunflower (11). • June 1972 first use of a Canadian pressing plant (Columbia Records of Canada, Ltd.) for a Deutsche Grammophon release (Highlights From Metropolitan Opera Gala Honouring Sir Rudolph Bing) in over a decade. All DG releases in Canada were imported from Germany after DG stopped using The Compo Company Ltd. in 1959. • August 1972 became Canadian distributor of Palladium Records (3). • 1972 became Canadian distributor for MGM Records and Mercury. • Early 1973 the company began printing price codes on releases. • During 1973 the company starting transitioning from using Polydor Records Canada Limited to the shorter form, Polydor Ltd. • During 1973 became Canadian distributor of Scepter Records and Wand until their demise in 1976. • December 1973 became distributor of André Perry's Good Noise Records. • June 1974 became Canadian distributor of T.K. Records. • July 1974 became Canadian distributor of Pablo Records. • June 1975 became distributor for WAM Records / Disques Pleiade. • January 1976 new President Tim Harrold (appointed May 1975) introduces "Marketed by Polydor" with Maple Leaf branding. First use of the logo in print advertising was March 1976. • December 1976 becomes Canadian distributor for Virgin. • January 1977 becomes Canadian distributor for Philips, which is released on the Mercury label in Canada. • April 1977 became Canadian distributor of Soul City (2).