American Record Corporation

American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or (erroneously) as ARC Records, was a United States based record company. It resulted from the merger in July 1929 of the Cameo Record Corporation (Cameo, Lincoln and Romeo labels), the Pathé Phonograph and Radio Corporation (the US branch of the Pathé and Perfect labels), the Plaza Music Company's group of labels (Banner, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, and Regal labels) (although Plaza's assets were included in the merger, the Plaza company itself was excluded and they subsequently formed the Crown label in 1930), and the Scranton Button Company, the parent company of Emerson Records (and the company who pressed most of the above labels).

Louis G. Sylvester (former head of Scranton) became president of the new company located at 1776 Broadway in Manhattan, New York City. In October 1929, Herbert Yates, head of Consolidated Film Industries, took control of ARC. In the following years, the company was very involved in a depressed market, buying failing labels at bargain prices to exploit their catalogue.

Arc Records (Canada)

Arc Records was a record label based in Toronto, Canada. Some of the artists to have their work released on the label include the Abbey Tavern Singers, Terry Black, and Marg Osburne.

Background

The company began operations in 1959 by Phil G. Anderson and it was originally a company oriented to promotion, merchandising and distribution. As of 1968, the president was Phil Anderson and the vice-president was Bill Gilliland. That year the label announced its plans to enter the international market.

In 1965, the label released a single called "The Klan". It contained the lyrics, "Now, he who travels with the Klan, he is a monster, not a man". It was announced in the June 12 issue of Billboard that prominent political figures including Dr. Martin Luther King were to receive copies of the single. There had been an effort to promote the single. The band behind this anti-Klan single was The Brothers-in-Law with their The Brothers-In-Law Strike Again album.

In 1967, the label had an injunction brought against them restraining them from the manufacture and distribution of "This Land Is Your Land" which was a parody of the Woody Guthrie tune.