Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment, and operates as an imprint of the Columbia/Epic Label Group. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company.[1] Columbia is the oldest brand name in pre-recorded sound,[2] being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers, instrumentalists and groups. From 1961 to 1990, its recordings were released outside the U.S. and Canada on the CBS Records label before adopting the Columbia name in most of the world.
Until 1989, Columbia Records had no connection to Columbia Pictures, which used various other names for record labels they owned, including Colpix, and later Arista (rather it was connected to CBS - which stood for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former owner). That label is now a sister label to Columbia Records through Sony Music; both are connected to Columbia Pictures through Sony Corporation of America, worldwide parent of both the music and motion picture arms of Sony.
Mike Watt recorded for Columbia between 1991 and 2005, first as a member of fIREHOSE and then as a solo artist. Watt dealt with Columbia no differently than his previous dealings with SST, delivering finished masters and artwork and never taking tour support money - a habit from his SST days that pleasantly surprised the people at Columbia, one of whom reportedly told Watt when he personally delivered the final master and artwork to fIREHOSE's Flyin' the Flannel, "Nobody (we ever worked with) ever did that before.". The label was more than tolerant of Watt's outside musical activities, including recording for CyberOctave and Sanctuary as part of Banyan, for Kill Rock Stars as part of Dos, The Black Gang, and Lil' Pit, and for Smog Veil as part of the Unknown Instructors (only the first Banyan album required a mention of Watt's contractual ties with Columbia). 
For The Secondman's Middle Stand, the release was marketed via Columbia's Red Ink imprint, a sub-division that Watt described as "keeping things closer to the iron". 
Watt's parting with Columbia was an amicable one; he stated at the time that he simply wanted to record and release projects more frequently than he was able to do with Columbia; Watt would then proceed to record over a dozen projects of his own volition between 2005 and 2010, many of which will now see release on his own clenchedwrench label. Despite their parting, Watt and Columbia have cooperated on two projects since then, the fIREHOSE double-CD anthology lowFLOWS: The Columbia Anthology ('91-'93) and the archival live album "ring spiel" tour 1995. 
==Watt recordings on Columbia==
===With fIREHOSE===
*Flyin' the Flannel (1991)
*Live Totem Pole EP (1992)
*Big Bottom Pow Wow (promo-only, 1993)
*mr. machinery operator (1993)
===As a solo artist===
*Ball-Hog or Tugboat (1995)
*Contemplating the Engine Room (1997)
*The Secondman's Middle Stand (2004)
Category:Record labels