Music Corporation of America

The Music Corporation of America, legally incorporated as MCA, Inc., is a United States based corporation in the music business. MCA publishes music, books music acts, and runs a record label.

Related Topics:
United States - Corporation

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MCA was founded as a music booking agency based in Chicago, Illinois in 1924 by Jules Stein. MCA helped pioneer modern practices of touring bands and name acts. Prominent early MCA booked artists included King Olvier and Jelly Roll Morton.

Related Topics:
Chicago, Illinois - 1924 - Jules Stein - King Olvier - Jelly Roll Morton

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Lew Wasserman rose through the ranks & would go on to run head MCA for almost four decades. During his tenure, he expanded the company's presence into television (founding EMKA, Ltd., which owns Paramount's pre-1948 film library and Revue Studios, the top supplier of television for all broadcast networks, spanning three decades). Wasserman also expanded MCA by purchasing Universal Studios in 1962 (he owned the backlot toward the end of the 1950's; Universal was in dire straits at that point). Wasserman turned Universal around and made it into the top film studio, producing hit after hit, and strengthening its presence in music.

Related Topics:
Lew Wasserman - EMKA, Ltd. - Paramount

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Notably, other executives within the company were Sidney Sheinberg, who was President of MCA, and Ned Tanen, former head of Universal Pictures. Tanen was behind Universal hits such as Animal House, and John Hughes' Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.

Related Topics:
Sidney Sheinberg - Ned Tanen - Sixteen Candles - The Breakfast Club

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MCA entered the record music business in 1962 with the purchase of the US Decca branch, including Coral Records and Brunswick Records. These labels were folded into MCA Records in the early 1970s. In 1975, the company entered the book publishing business with the acquistion of G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Related Topics:
1962 - Decca - Coral Records - Brunswick Records - 1970s - Book publishing - G. P. Putnam's Sons

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In 1979 it acquired ABC Dunhill Records along with its subsidiaries ABC Records, Paramount Records, Impulse Records, Dot Records and Dunhill Records. Chess Records was acquired in 1985, Motown Records was bought in 1988 (and sold to Polygram in 1993). GRP Records and Geffen Records were acquired in 1990. In the same year, the MCA Corporation holding company was purchased by the Matsushita group.

Related Topics:
ABC Dunhill Records - ABC Records - Paramount Records - Impulse Records - Dot Records - Dunhill Records - Chess Records - Motown Records - Polygram - GRP Records - Geffen Records - Matsushita group

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In 1995, Seagram Company Ltd. acquired 80% of MCA INC. and the following year the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became Universal Studios, Inc. and its music divison, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed Universal Music Group. The following year the new owners sold G. P. Putnam's Sons to the Penguin Group. In 1998 Seagram acquired PolyGram from Philips & merged it with its music holdings. When Seagram was brought by France-based Pernod Ricard, its holdings in Universal were sold to Vivendi.

Related Topics:
Seagram Company Ltd. - Universal Studios, Inc. - Universal Music Group - Penguin Group - PolyGram - Philips - France - Pernod Ricard - Vivendi

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In the spring of 2003, MCA Records was folded into Geffen Records. Its country music label, MCA Nashville Records is still in operation.

Related Topics:
Spring - 2003 - Geffen Records - Country music - MCA Nashville Records

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MCA ran "RadioMOI" Music On Internet company.

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