Deutsche Grammophon

Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of a corporation called PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of labels in 1999. It is the oldest surviving established record company.  Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft was founded in 1898 by German-born United States citizen Emile Berliner as the German branch of his Berliner Gramophone Company. Berliner sent his nephew Joseph Sanders from America to set up operations. Based in the city of Hanover (the founder's birthplace), the company was an affiliate of the U.S. Victor Talking Machine Company and the British Gramophone Company, but that affiliation ended with the onset of World War I. Early labels bore the legend Grammophon and the painting "His Master's Voice" featuring the dog Nipper.  In 1941, Deutsche Grammophon was purchased by the Siemens & Halske electronics company.  In 1949, Deutsche Grammophon sold the German rights of the His Master's Voice trademark to the Electrola unit of EMI. The dog and gramophone were replaced by the crown of tulips, designed by Siemens advertising consultant Hans Domizlaff.  In 1962 Siemens formed a joint venture with Netherlands-based Philips to create the DGG/PPI Record Group, which became PolyGram Records in 1972.  Deutsche Grammophon pioneered the introduction of the compact disc to the mass market, debuting classical music performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic for sale in the new medium in 1983.