Atlantic
Parent label: Atlantic Recording Corporation
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American record label.
Label Code: LC 0121/LC 00121.
For counterfeit editions and other unofficial versions of its releases, please see Atlantic (2).
History
In 1947, Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson and his wife Miriam Abramson (née Miriam Kahan) started an independent record label in New York City, which they named Atlantic Records, with financial backing from a Turkish dentist, Dr. Vahdi Sabi. They were later joined by Ahmet's brother Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. Growing from literally a one-room operation into one of the preeminent companies in the rapidly evolving music industry, the Atlantic label soon became recognized and revered around the world — a name synonymous with artistry and quality.
On February 1, 1958, Atlantic entered the stereo tape market, and they released their first stereo LPs late May/early June 1958. Chief engineer Tom Dowd developed special techniques for stereo recording and described it as "sound in the round" because it gave the illusion of being "omni-directional" (the sound coming from a broad center) as opposed to most stereo engineers who were striving for extreme left and right directionality. In 1959, Atlantic Records and Atlantic Studios both moved to 1841 Broadway New York, N.Y.
Atlantic was purchased in 1967 by the Warner Bros-Seven Arts film studio. Atlantic/ATCO Records, along with Warner Bros. Records/Reprise Records, were to be operated as separate record companies under this ownership umbrella. This continued until 1969, when Warner Bros-Seven Arts was purchased by Kinney National Company. Warner Bros. and Atlantic were brought together, Ahmet Ertegün was given considerable power in the new operation and he, along with both the president and chairman of Warner Bros. Records Mo Austin, served on a committee to oversee the record business. They oversaw the purchase of Elektra from its founder Jac Holzman in 1970, leading to the creation of the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic () alliance and distribution network.