Edward Easton in 1889 incorporated a company called ‘North American Phonograph’ in the District of Columbia USA, which made/leased dictating machines. This failed but ‘COLUMBIA’ survived by selling records. By 1891 it was the biggest recording company in the world with 200 recordings all on cylinder. By 1900 a London office was opened which pressed both cylinders and discs. The economic recession after WW1 forced the company to sell its British subsidiary to its manager Louis Sterling in 1922. When Columbia failed in USA in 1923, Sterling bought it to get Weston Electrics’ new electrical recording process which was only available to American companies. Like its rival HMV, the London based COLUMBIA GRAMOPHONE COMPANY (INTERNATIONAL) soon expanded worldwide.

In the UK, The Gramophone Company and The Columbia Gramophone Company merged in 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries. The global merger brought the Columbia, Electrola, HMV, Regal, Zonophone, Odeon, Pathe, and Parlophone labels, together with smaller logos, under one umbrella operation based at Hayes in Middlesex. It was a bold move, designed to eliminate competition in a shrinking depression-ridden market, and ultimately it worked. In 1931 EMI did the first experiments in long-playing records. In 1933 they made the first experimental stereo discs. In 1938 EMI Australia maintained a catalogue of about 30,000 titles using about 1600 artists including many overseas labels. They then were pressing about 80,000 records each month. Soon after WW2 this had risen to nearly 400,000 (plus 250,000 imported from UK) per month. In 1995 EMI commenced building their new 37,000 square foot complex in Hayes. It is the biggest and most valuable archive in the world which has brought together all the different elements of the Company's 100 year history. It houses the museum, record and paper archive, master tape and video tape libraries and the Company's extensive photograph collection. A copy of almost every disc issued exists [nearly 500,000]. It has been reported that in October 1964 English EMI destroyed their 78 masters. In January 2000 EMI announced merger talks with Warner Music Group to create the world's largest record company and make EMI a subsidiary of Time Warner. Warner and EMI were the 4th and 5th largest music businesses in the world. The new labels include Virgin, Atlantic, and WEA. These merger discussions were still going on in November 2000. Also in November 2000 EMI and BMG were in talks about a merger. If this happened it would form the worlds' largest music company.