Masterpiece (7)

Also appears as "Masterpiece Records". A cheap label for classical recordings started in 1936 by Musicraft Records which had vanished by the end of the 1940s. Masterpiece records were inexpensive pressings of classical and operatic pieces intended for sales in dime stores. Generic artist names (such as "Symphony Orchestra") are given on most of their labels. Masterpiece's primary importance in the industry's history is that of being one of the first firms in the 1930s to press records for other independent labels, allowing the first of the small independents to enter the industry which had been dominated since the early years of the decade by a few large firms.