page_title: EMI
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: EMI / History
caption_attribution_description: The EMI building, around the corner of High Street Kensington underground station, in Wrights Lane W8. The building was formerly the London offices of en:Penguin Books until 2000. Photograph Taken by: Omernos en:Category:Images of London
context_page_description: EMI Group Limited was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies. Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now owned by other companies.
  EMI was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but faced financial problems and US$4 billion in debt, leading to its acquisition by Citigroup in February 2011. Citigroup's ownership was temporary, as EMI announced in November 2011 that it would sell its music arm to Vivendi's Universal Music Group for $1.9 billion and its publishing business to a Sony/ATV consortium for around $2.2 billion. Other members of the Sony consortium include the estate of Michael Jackson, the Blackstone Group, and the Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Development Company. EMI's locations in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada were all disassembled to repay debt, but the primary head office located outside those countries is still functional.
context_section_description: Electric and Musical Industries Ltd was formed in March 1931 by the merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company, with its "His Master's Voice" record label, firms that have a history extending back to the origins of recorded sound. The new vertically integrated company produced sound recordings as well as recording and playback equipment.
  The company's gramophone manufacturing led to 40 years of success with larger-scale electronics and electrical engineering.
caption: EMI's former building in London. The building is now owned by Warner Music UK.
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