HMV's current logo.

His Master's Voice, today usually abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the Jack Russell Terrier dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone. In the original painting, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph. His Masters Voice, often abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record company. ... StanisÅ‚aw Lem ( , September 12, 1921 – March 27, 2006) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer. ... English edition cover. ... His Masters Voice is a satirical comedy series on BBC Radio 4. ... “(TM)” redirects here. ... The Jack Russell Terrier is a type or landrace of small, principally white-bodied, smooth or rough-coated terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... Tonearm redirects here. ...

The origin of the trademark image

The famous trademark image comes from a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, A.R.A. and titled His Master's Voice. It was acquired from the artist in 1899 by the newly-formed Gramophone Company. According to contemporary Gramophone Company publicity material, the dog, a fox terrier called Nipper, had originally belonged to Barraud's brother Mark. When Mark Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper, along with a cylinder phonograph and a number of recordings of Mark's voice. Francis noted the peculiar interest that the dog took in the recorded voice of his late master emanating from the trumpet, and conceived the idea of committing the scene to canvas. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Francis James Barraud (June 16, 1856 in Liverpool, England - August 29, 1924) was an English painter. ... An Associate of the Royal Academy is a practising artist who has been elected as a member of the Royal Academy, an art institution based in London, England. ... The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... The earliest method of recording and reproducing sound was on phonograph cylinders. ...

In early 1899 , Francis Barraud applied for copyright of the original painting using the descriptive working title Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph. He was unable to sell the work to any cylinder phonograph company, but The Gramophone Company purchased it later that year, under the condition that Barraud modify it to show one of their disc machines. The image was first used on the company's publicity material in 1900 , and additional copies were subsequently commissioned from the artist for various corporate purposes. ^[1]

Later, at the request of the gramophone's inventor Emile Berliner, the American rights to the picture became owned by the Victor Talking Machine Company. Victor used the image more aggressively than its UK partner, and from 1902 on all Victor records had a simplified drawing of the dog and gramophone from Barraud's painting on their label. Magazine advertisements urged record buyers to "Look for the dog". Emile Berliner with disc record gramophone. ... Victor logo with the famous Nipper dog. ...

The Gramophone Company becomes "His Master's Voice"

In Commonwealth countries, the Gramophone Company did not use this design on its record labels until 1909 . The following year the Gramophone Company replaced the Recording Angel trademark in the upper half of the record labels by the famous picture painted by Frances Barraud, commonly referred to as Nipper or The Dog. The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2008. ...

The company was never formally called "HMV" or His Master's Voice, but was identified by that term because of its use of the trademark. Records issued by the Company before February 1908 were generally referred to as "G&Ts", while those after that date are usually called "HMV" records.

This image continued to be used as a trademark by Victor in the USA, Canada and Latin America, and then by Victor's successor RCA. In Commonwealth countries (except Canada) it was used by subsidiaries of the Gramophone Company, which ultimately became part of EMI. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... This article is about the former RCA Corporation. ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ...

The trademark's ownership is divided among different companies in different countries, reducing its value in the globalised music market. The name HMV is used by a chain of music shops owned by HMV Group plc, mainly in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan. Economic globalization has had an impact on the worldwide integration of different cultures. ... His Masters Voice, often abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record company. ...

HMV, Oxford Street

In 1921 the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London. In 1929 RCA bought Victor, and with it a major shareholding in the Gramophone Company which Victor had owned since 1920. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1633 KB) Summary Photo of HMV, Oxford Street taken 24 September 2005 by User:Edward. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1633 KB) Summary Photo of HMV, Oxford Street taken 24 September 2005 by User:Edward. ... Oxford Street, with Centre Point in the background Oxford Street in 1875, looking west from the junction with Duke Street. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1931 RCA was instrumental in the creation of EMI, which continued to own the "His Master's Voice" name and image in the UK. In 1935 RCA sold its stake in EMI but continued to own Victor and the rights to His Master's Voice in the Americas.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ...

World War II fragmented the ownership of the name still further, as RCA Victor's Japanese subsidiary The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) became independent, and today they still use the "Victor" brand and Nipper in Japan only^[2]. Nipper continued to appear on RCA Victor records in America while EMI owned the His Master's Voice label in the UK until the 1980s, and the HMV shops until 1998. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Victor Company of Japan, Limited ) (TYO: 6792 ), usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

The globalised market for CDs pushed EMI into abandoning the HMV label in favour of "EMI Classics", a name they could use worldwide; however, it was revived in the 1990s for Morrissey recordings. The HMV trademark is now owned by the retail chain in the UK. The formal trade mark transfer from EMI took place in 2003.[1] CD redirects here. ... For other uses, see Morrissey (disambiguation). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Meanwhile, RCA went into a financial decline. The dog and gramophone image, along with the RCA name, is now licensed by RCA Records and RCA Victor owner Sony BMG Music Entertainment from Thomson SA, which operates RCA's consumer electronics business (still promoted by Nipper the dog) that it bought from General Electric in 1986, after GE bought RCA^[3]. The image of "His Master's Voice" now exists in the United States as a trademark only on radios and radios combined with phonographs, a trademark owned by Thomson subsidiary RCA Trademark Management SA. RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. ... The Sony BMG Music Entertainment logo. ... This article is about the media and entertainment company. ... GE redirects here. ...

With that exception, the "His Master's Voice" dog and gramophone image is in the public domain in the USA, its United States trademark registrations having expired in 1989 (Sound recordings and phonograph cabinets), 1992 (television sets, television-radio combination sets), and 1994 (sound recording and reproducing machines, needles, and records).

Additional Notes

The "His Master's Voice" logo was used around the world, and the motto became well-known in different languages. In Europe these include "La Voix de son Maître" (France), "La Voce del Padrone" (Italy) and "Die Stimme Seines Herrn" (Germany).

On 1 April, 2007, HMV Group announced that Gromit, the animated dog of Wallace and Gromit fame, would stand in for Nipper for a three month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.^[4] Gromit redirects here. ...

The 1958 LP album "Elvis' Golden Records" shows pictures of various RCA 45s with Nipper on their labels. On the British version, these images were blacked out, for obvious copyright reasons. This editing took place with many other RCA releases in England.

The latest Superman movie, "Superman Returns" (2005) has a scene early on set in Kansas, in which a "His Master's Voice" radio is clearly shown. HMV radios have never been sold in the USA, due to RCA holding the "Nipper" copyright. The movie was made in Australia, and the nearest "prop" was obviously used.

Homage is played to the iconic dog and gramaphone image in the 1999 feature film 'Wild Wild West' where in the 43rd minute a dog resembling Nipper runs to the side of a recently departed character and looks into an ear horn. The film however, is set in 1869, 30 years before Barraud created his work.

hmv Group plc

Main article: HMV Group plc

The name HMV is still used by the chain of entertainment shops founded by Gramophone Company in the UK, which continued to expand internationally through the 1990s. In 1998 HMV Media was created as a separate company leaving EMI with a 43% stake. The firm bought the Waterstone's chain of bookshops and merged them with Dillons. In 2002 it floated on the London Stock Exchange as HMV Group plc, leaving EMI with only a token holding. HMV shops in Australia, Ireland and the UK also use Nipper. As of August 2006, there are over 400 HMV stores worldwide, plus the website hmv.co.uk,^[5]which is operated by HMV Guernsey. His Masters Voice, often abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record company. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Gower Street branch Waterstones Piccadilly branch, Europes largest bookshop Waterstones is a United Kingdom based chain of bookshops. ... Dillons was a UK based bookseller, which was founded by Una Dillon and traded from 1932 until its absorption in 1999 into the Waterstones chain. ... The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building Paternoster Square. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... August 2006 is the eighth month of that year, and has yet to occur. ...

See also

• Victor Talking Machine Company
• EMI
• RCA Records
• List of record labels
• Nipper
• The Gramophone Company

Victor logo with the famous Nipper dog. ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. ... This is a list of record labels. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies. ...

References

1. ^ The Nipper Saga. Retrieved on 2006-05-27.
2. ^ HMV shops in Canada and Japan are still not allowed to use Nipper for these reasons; nor did the shops HMV operated in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
3. ^ Thomson SA bought the RCA trademarks, including Nipper in the Americas, from GE in 2003.
4. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Gromit steps into HMV logo role
5. ^ HMV Adds Gaming. Marketnews.ca. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2006.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• HMV Official Website
• Lots more about Nipper
• Musée des ondes Emile Berlliner

http://www.oojai.com OOJAI Official Website]