RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the most storied names in American music, now operating as a flagship label under Sony Music Entertainment. Its roots go back to the Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901 by Emile Berliner and Eldridge R. Johnson. Berliner invented the flat disc record and the Gramophone, while Johnson built the manufacturing empire that made Victor dominant. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) bought Victor, creating RCA Victor. The label shortened its name to RCA Records in the early 1970s. Over the decades, it has released music across an extraordinary range of genres: pop, classical, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. The roster has included everyone from Elvis Presley and David Bowie to Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, Doja Cat, and Miley Cyrus.

Today, RCA Records operates out of Sony Music's headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue in New York City. Under Chairman and CEO Peter Edge since 2011, the label has maintained a strong presence in pop and hip-hop while expanding into Latin music and Afrobeats. It distributes music through Sony's global network spanning over 40 countries, with major hubs in London, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, Sydney, and São Paulo. The label's brand identity blends its historic legacy, the iconic Victor dog and gramophone logo still appears on some reissues, with modern digital marketing campaigns across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

RCA Records has faced its share of controversies. In the 1990s, Prince famously wrote "slave" on his face to protest his contract. A legal battle with Kesha over alleged abuse and contract issues ran from 2014 to 2016. In 2020, former employees filed a racial discrimination lawsuit, which Sony settled in 2022. The label has also drawn criticism for low streaming royalty payouts, a common complaint across major labels. Despite these issues, RCA continues to thrive, investing in vinyl reissues of classic albums and AI-driven music discovery tools as of 2025.[edit]