Black Swan Records

Black Swan Records was a United States record label in the 1920s; it was the first to be owned and operated by, and marketed to, African Americans.

Origins

Black Swan was founded in May of 1921 by Harry Pace and was based in Harlem, New York City. The parent company of the record label was originally named the Pace Phonograph Company. The company was formed after the prior partnership with W.C. Handy, the Pace-Handy Music Publishing Company, dissolved. Some historians previously thought W.C. Handy had a stake in the business, but Handy's own words contradict their assumptions: "To add to my woes, my partner withdrew from the business. He disagreed with some of my business methods, but no harsh words were involved. He simply chose this time to sever connection with our firm in order that he might organized Pace Phonograph Company, issuing Black Swan Records and making a serious bid for the Negro market. ... With Pace went a large number of our employees. ... Still more confusion and anguish grew out of the fact that people did not generally know that I had no stake in the Black Swan Record Company."

Related Topics:
1921 - Harry Pace - Harlem, New York City - W.C. Handy

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Originally the company producing Black Swan was called the Pace Phonograph Corporation, but in 1923 it was renamed the Black Swan Company. The firm was named after 19th century opera star Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was known as the Black Swan.

Related Topics:
1923 - Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield

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