Melotone

Melotone Records was an American budget record label introduced in 1930 by Warner-Brunswick interests for the United States and Canada. It operated during the Great Depression, a period in which inexpensive recorded entertainment became particularly important to consumers, and issued 78 rpm disc records at a price designed to compete with other low-cost labels. The imprint originally sold records for 50 cents; by 1932, its pricing had been reduced to 35 cents per disc or three records for one dollar. This pricing helped make Melotone a commonly encountered popular label during the Depression-era record market. The label began as an imprint of Brunswick Record Corporation. In 1932, Brunswick’s labels became part of the American Record Corporation collection, placing Melotone within a broader corporate portfolio of record imprints. Rather than functioning exclusively as a showcase for a single house style or a small group of contracted performers, Melotone drew on studio orchestras, pseudonymous ensembles, and recordings by musicians who were also active on more prestigious or better-known labels. Names used on its releases included Ralph Bennett and His Seven Aces, Bob Causer and His Cornellians, Owen Fallon and His Orchestra, Sleepy Hall and His Collegians, Vic Irwin and His Orchestra, Chick Bullock and His Levee Loungers, Vincent Rose and His Orchestra, and Paul Small and His Orchestra. The label’s catalog reflected the breadth of American commercial music in the 1930s. Popular dance music and orchestral material formed an important part of its output, while jazz and blues recordings added further variety. Melotone also issued country, Mexican, Cajun, and Hawaiian music. Artists connected with the label or its releases included Eddie Cantor, Annette Hanshaw, Lead Belly, Blind Boy Fuller, Gene Autry, and Tex Ritter. Its sessions also involved prominent musicians such as the Dorsey Brothers, Bunny Berigan, Joe Venuti, Jack Teagarden, and Benny Goodman. Some established bandleaders and performers appeared under alternate ensemble names, allowing recordings to be marketed within the economical and flexible framework of a budget imprint. Melotone was disestablished in 1938. Its historical importance rests less on a long-lived corporate structure than on the breadth and accessibility of its catalog, which preserved performances from several strands of American popular and vernacular music. In 2010, the Melotone name was refounded as a division of Melotone Music LLC. The modern revival is separate from the original Depression-era operating period, although it continues the brand’s association with recorded music and archival musical culture. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current headquarters, detailed ownership structure, executive roster, or a complete account of the revived division’s present commercial activities.

Melotone Records emerged in 1930 as a budget imprint associated with Brunswick Record Corporation and its Warner-Brunswick interests. The label was launched for the United States and Canada and specialized in inexpensive 78 rpm discs. Its original 50-cent price positioned it below many premium record offerings, while a further reduction by 1932—to 35 cents per disc or three for one dollar—strengthened its mass-market appeal. The label operated against the backdrop of the Great Depression, when affordable recorded music provided accessible home entertainment. Melotone became a commonly encountered imprint and issued a wide range of contemporary material rather than restricting itself to one genre. Popular dance tunes and orchestral records were central to the catalog. Many releases were credited to studio groups or performers using pseudonyms, including Ralph Bennett and His Seven Aces, Bob Causer and His Cornellians, Owen Fallon and His Orchestra, Sleepy Hall and His Collegians, Vic Irwin and His Orchestra, Chick Bullock and His Levee Loungers, Vincent Rose and His Orchestra, and Paul Small and His Orchestra. This production model enabled Melotone to draw on musicians from the New York recording scene while presenting releases under commercially useful ensemble names. Participants associated with Melotone recordings included the Dorsey Brothers, Bunny Berigan, Joe Venuti, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, and other prominent musicians. Working bands and bandleaders were also represented, sometimes under alternate names; Hal Kemp, for example, was connected with releases credited to the Carolina Club Orchestra. Other bandleaders associated with the catalog included Will Osborne, Joe Haymes, Gene Kardos, Nye Mayhew, Anthony Trini, and Rudy Vallee. Melotone’s repertoire extended beyond mainstream dance music. The label issued jazz and blues performances, including recordings associated with Lucille Bogan under the name Bessie Jackson, Big Bill Broonzy, Josh White, and Buddy Moss. It also released country, Mexican, Cajun, and Hawaiian material. Performers connected with the imprint or its catalog included Eddie Cantor, Annette Hanshaw, Lead Belly, Blind Boy Fuller, Gene Autry, and Tex Ritter. This mixture gave Melotone documentary value as a record of the varied musical marketplace of the 1930s. In 1932, Melotone became part of the American Record Corporation collection of labels as Brunswick’s label interests were consolidated. The imprint continued within that wider portfolio until it was disestablished in 1938. Its original operating life therefore lasted approximately eight years, although surviving records and later archival projects have preserved its output for collectors and researchers. The name was revived in 2010 as a division of Melotone Music LLC. Available reference material identifies this as a refounding rather than an uninterrupted continuation of the original company. Details about the modern division’s releases, management, headquarters, and current operating scale are not established in the supplied sources. Melotone is consequently best understood as a historically significant American budget imprint with a later revival, rather than as a continuously operating major record company.

• 2010

  The Melotone name is revived

  [1]Melotone Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Melotone Records was refounded as a division of Melotone Music LLC.

• 1938

  Original imprint is disestablished

  [1]Melotone Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The original Melotone Records operation ended after an eight-year run.

• 1932

  Melotone joins the American Record Corporation label group

  [1]Melotone Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The imprint became part of the American Record Corporation collection of labels. Its retail price was reduced from 50 cents to 35 cents, with a three-for-one-dollar offer also reported.

• 1930

  Melotone Records is launched

  [1]Melotone Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Warner-Brunswick interests introduced Melotone in the United States and Canada as a budget imprint for 78 rpm records.

A low-priced, broad-catalogue record imprint that brought contemporary popular, dance, jazz, blues, country, and regional music to mass-market buyers during the Depression-era 78 rpm period.

• Budget phonograph records · 1930

  Melotone 78 rpm records

  The core Melotone product was the inexpensive 78 rpm shellac disc. The imprint marketed records at a lower price than premium labels, initially charging 50 cents and later reducing the price to 35 cents, with a three-record bundle offered for one dollar. Releases covered contemporary popular music and were often performed by studio musicians or ensembles operating under pseudonyms.

• Popular music · 1930

  Popular dance and orchestral recordings

  Melotone issued dance tunes and orchestral performances associated with a wide network of working bands, studio groups, and bandleaders. Credits included names such as Ralph Bennett and His Seven Aces, Owen Fallon and His Orchestra, Sleepy Hall and His Collegians, and other commercially styled ensemble identities. The format allowed listeners to obtain current dance-oriented repertoire at budget-label prices.

• Jazz and blues · 1930

  Jazz and blues recordings

  The catalog also included jazz and blues performances, connecting the imprint with musicians such as Big Bill Broonzy, Josh White, Buddy Moss, and Lucille Bogan, who was associated with releases credited to Bessie Jackson. Sessions involving prominent instrumentalists, including Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan, Joe Venuti, Jack Teagarden, and the Dorsey Brothers, contributed to the label’s historical importance.

• Country and regional music · 1930

  Regional and vernacular music recordings

  Melotone’s output extended to country, Mexican, Cajun, and Hawaiian music. Performers connected with the label included Gene Autry and Tex Ritter, while the broader catalog reflected the range of regional and vernacular styles sold through American record retailers during the 1930s.

• 2010

  The Melotone brand is refoundedStrategy

  Background

  After the original imprint had been disestablished in 1938, the Melotone name retained historical value through its association with Depression-era recordings.

  Action taken

  Melotone Records was revived as a division of Melotone Music LLC.

  Aftermath

  The revival established a modern corporate continuation of the name, but the supplied material does not document its current catalog, leadership, or market reach.

  Source

• 1932

  Melotone adopts a lower mass-market pricePrice change

  Background

  Melotone was operating as a budget imprint during the Great Depression, when affordability was central to the appeal of inexpensive recorded entertainment.

  Action taken

  The label reduced its reported price from 50 cents to 35 cents per record and offered three records for one dollar.

  Aftermath

  The lower pricing reinforced Melotone’s role as a widely available budget label. The supplied sources do not provide sales figures or a quantified commercial impact.

  Source

• 1932

  Melotone is incorporated into the American Record Corporation label portfolioM&A

  Background

  Brunswick’s label interests were reorganized within the American Record Corporation collection of labels.

  Action taken

  Melotone became part of the American Record Corporation group while continuing as an imprint.

  Aftermath

  The move placed Melotone within a larger multi-label record-company structure. The available source does not specify detailed changes to management or distribution.

  Source

1. 1Melotone Recordsen.wikipedia.org