Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.

Japanese record company. Please do not enter as a label. Originally founded in 1946, when its predecessor Nipponophone Co. Ltd. (also known as Nippon Phonograph Co.) adopted 'Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.' as its new name. The company owns the rights to the Columbia brand in Japan and operates this label separate from Sony Corporation. It also owned several other labels and manufactured and distributed records from Western labels. On October 1, 2002 the company was renamed to Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc. On October 1, 2010, the company name reverted back to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. CDs pressed from 1982-1983 had their catalog numbers stamped in the plastic outer ring mould. From 1984-1987 CD pressings had the dot matrix font and would be the "catalog number" and then a "number/letter/number" (for example, 1A1) and then a "number/number" for the last digit of the year and the month up to September (or if October, November or December, then "X" "Y" or "Z"). Later pressings have the same organization as '84-'87, but are now etched rather than dot matrix style.