Berliner Gram-o-phone Company

The Berliner Gram-o-phone Company was established in 1897 in Montreal by Emile Berliner (1851-1929). The German born Berliner was the inventor of the gramophone and co-founder, with his brother Joseph, of the German company Deutsche Gramophone. The Berliner Gram-o-phone Company was the first record company in Canada and the first to manufacture records and "talking machines". The first records produced in Canada, seven-inch single sided discs, were issued on January 2, 1900. Ten-inch records followed in 1901 and 12-inch discs in 1903. The first double-sided records were manufactured in 1908.

Initially the Berliner company used master recordings from the Berliner companies in the United States and Europe but by 1904 they had their own recording studio in Montreal. Records were issued on the Berliner Gram-o-phone, the Concert Grand, His Masters Voice (HMV) and Victor labels. Berliner distributed American Victor recordings starting in 1901. Canadian artists whose records were released on Berliner-manufactured labels include the Hart House String Quartet, Henry Burr, Pauline Donalda, Joseph Saucier, Paul Dufault, Henri Miro and Joseph Allard.

Emile Berliner remained as President of the company until 1924. In 1921 Berliner's son Herbert left his position as vice-president and general manager of Berliner to devote all his efforts to the Compo Company which he had established in 1918. Another son, Edgar, then became vice-president and in 1924 arranged for the sale of the company to the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey. Edgar Berliner remained as president of the company in Canada until 1930. The Victor Talking Machine Company of Canada in 1929 became the RCA Victor Company and, since 1987, has been known as BMG Music Canada.