If the symbol relates to Sony as I and others think then it means that CBS and probably Sony did not want to make the association overt. In other words, if it is Sony then the CBS record label could have had the word "Sony" on it but didn't. Without a corporate insider, and I don't mean someone working at a pressing plant, it is hard to know the precise reason for this. My guess is that CBS Records did not want to put "Sony" somewhere on the label because the buyout/takeover was going to take years to happen and could have come apart. It wasn't until 1993 that Sony actually took full control over CBS. The symbol faded away a few years after that.
This is a theory and only that, but it ties in somewhat... what if this symbol was placed there to indicate something was pressed at a certain point in time, so that if oversupplies or defects were returned by retailers these items could be easily identified before being melted down?
I'm not sure it is precise enough. Millions of discs probably carry the symbol. I'm pretty sure Polygram began using tiny letters in the matrix band partly for quality control. The letters could be incremented with each job.
In all likelihood this was a policy instituted by corporate management. The confusion and inaccurate explanations by personnel working at the pressing plants supports that. The art department must have been given a list of the recordings which required the symbols. They would put it in as directed and send it to the pressing plant. So without being able to see the contractual language between CBS and Sony it is hard to reconstruct each vagary of application. Perhaps the lawyers just overlooked stock 7". The coincidence of the symbol appearing at the start of Sony CBS collaboration with digital audio and its disappearance not long after the merger was complete is hard to explain otherwise.
Wasn't the church in ALICE'S RESTAURANT known as the Trinity Church before Arlo bought it and turned it into The Guthrie Center?
The symbol showing up on a cassette has blown my mind. That hints it was some kind of record label inventory mark or something.
Yes, that was definitely the prevailing theory in this thread for a couple of years. That theory almost won the day about 8 years ago.
Was it the 7 incher's that killed it? Can't remember. I think from 85 up mine all had barcodes on the label.
Man, you might be right. I think that the one thing that actually killed the inventory theory was that so many promos have it on them as well. I really do not want to reread this thread to refresh myself on all of the theories that we have entertained over the years.
I think it represents that the same master was used on all formats. That’s my best guess. No one has disproved this theory yet, have they?
There is the indisputable fact that the symbol appeared in 1985 and disappeared in 1994. So all these theories need to explain why the symbol appeared when it did and why it disappeared. The only uncomplicated explanation is that it was a joint Sony - CBS symbol since their joint operations extended from 1985- 1992. Why they wanted a symbol on music media is the question that is harder to answer without seeing the contract or having a corporate HQ attorney let us know.
Can you be clearer on the "joint operations" between Sony and CBS between 1985 and 1992, specifically? According to Sony, their relationship started in March 1968 with the formation of CBS/Sony Records Inc. and culminated in January 1988, when Sony acquired CBS Records: Sony Global - Sony History Chapter22 CBS/Sony Records is Established in First Round of Capital Deregulation As far as I know, Sony still owns all of CBS/Columbia Records. What exactly started in 1985 and ended in 1992?
