Warner Communications

American music and record company umbrella founded out of Kinney National Service Inc. and renamed to Warner Communications Inc. in early 1972. Please determine the correct term on the release. A Division Of Warner Communications Inc. usually appears on releases from Elektra-based labels like Elektra, Nonesuch, Asylum Records, while A Warner Communications Company usually appears on releases from the other umbrella labels Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic, and the WEA International Inc. branches. History: July 1969 Kinney National Service Inc. acquires Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records. U.K. branch Warner Bros. Seven Arts Records Ltd. established. July 1970 Kinney National Service Inc. buys Elektra. October 1970 Record distributorship in Cleveland opened. Australian branch Warner Bros. Records (Pty) Ltd. established. November 1970 Nesuhi Ertegun will be director of newly created international record department Kinney Record Group International (Kinney Music International as licenscee) with Phil Rose as managing director. Japanese subdiary Warner Bros.-Pioneer Corporation established. February 1971 Share-holders voted to change the name of the company from Kinney National Service Inc. to Kinney Services Inc. July 1971 The Warner-Elektra-Atlantic-distributing corporation (W-E-A) has been set up by Kinney Services Inc., but it will take one more years till the international department and the branches will be renamed officially to WEA. 1971 German branch Kinney Music GmbH and french branch Kinney Filipacchi Music S.A. established, UK branch renamed to Kinney Music Ltd., canadian branch to Kinney Music Of Canada, Ltd. and australian branch to Kinney Music (Pty) Limited. February 1972 Kinney Services Inc. renamed to Warner Communications Inc. 1972 Reflecting of the initials of the parent record companies, Warner Bros. Records, Elektra and Atlantic, Kinney Music International will be called WEA International Inc.. Similar name changes will be undertaken for WEA’s subdiary companies. 1972 All international branches were officially renamed Kinney Music Ltd. to WEA Records Ltd., Kinney Filipacchi Music S.A. to WEA Filipacchi Music S.A., Kinney Music Of Canada, Ltd. to WEA Music Of Canada, Ltd. and Kinney Music (Pty) Limited to WEA Records Pty. Limited January 1973 German branch was the last to be renamed from Kinney Music GmbH to WEA Musik GmbH Early 1975 The Company began employing the iconic Saul Bass 'w' logo on releases in the US, later to become the umbrella brand identity for the Warner Music Group. In 1989, the company merged with Time Inc., to form Time Warner Inc.. This way, the Time-Life Music catalog was put under the same roof as WEA. In the late 1990s, Rhino Records (2) gets added to the group. In January 2001: After a merge with AOL to form AOL Time Warner, the company accumulated debts and began selling off parts of the conglomerate. By late 2003, AOL Time Warner was reverted to Time Warner Inc., which was itself sold off on December 31, 2003 to a group of private investors headed by Strauss Zetnick, a former record company executive.