Editing PolyGram (section)

=== Reorganization, 1980–1999 ===
Before 1978, PolyGram was losing money. When US operations were running at full capacity, PolyGram expanded aggressively, and would press large quantities of records without knowing the demand. In late 1979, PolyGram was caught off guard by the sudden end of the popularity of disco music, leaving it with an underutilized distribution network, profligate labels, and over optimistic product orders. PolyGram's Casablanca label was known for management spending on lavish industry parties and luxury cars. After 1980, PolyGram's losses had spiraled upwards of US$220 million.

Another contributing factor to PolyGram's financial woes was the massive failure of the big budget musical ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band]]'' (1978). The film starred the [[Bee Gees]] and [[Peter Frampton]] at the height of their popularity, and featured [[the Beatles]] covers by them as well as [[Aerosmith]], [[Billy Preston]], and [[Earth, Wind & Fire]]. The film was highly anticipated to surpass the [[box office]] success of both the ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]'' and ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]'', mostly due to its popular music stars. The soundtrack LP, based on only advance orders, was released triple platinum.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} The movie was released to poor reviews and died at the box office. Despite its triple platinum start, the soundtrack LP's sales bombed after the film's release. In turn, record dealers flooded PolyGram with returned LPs. The resulting losses nearly wiped out the profits the company had made on both the ''Saturday Night Fever'' and ''Grease'' soundtracks. The company took further loses when the disco craze ended in 1979 and record sales for both the Bee Gees and Casablanca's [[Village People]] plummeted. PolyGram also experienced losses with the defection of Casablanca's [[Donna Summer]] to newly formed [[Geffen Records]] as well as the dropping of [[Andy Gibb]], whose personal problems with cocaine and alcohol began to affect his recording career, from RSO. Summer and the Bee Gees also had legal disputes with their labels which further complicated matters. Summer ended her contract with PolyGram in 1980, and was awarded the rights to her songwriting catalog by the courts; she owed them one more album, and finished out her contract by recording her album ''She Works Hard For The Money'' (from which the title track was a huge hit in 1983).

In 1980, after PolyGram bought the other 50% of Casablanca Records and Filmworks, PolyGram renamed its existing Casablanca Records & Filmworks unit as [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment|PolyGram Pictures]] with [[Peter Guber]] becoming chairman of the company.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1980-03-29 |title=PolyGram Insures Home Video Base |pages=9 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1980/1980-03-29-Billboard-Page-0009.pdf}}</ref> During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PolyGram continued to invest in a diversified film unit with the purchases of individual production companies.

In 1981, Philips executive Jan Timmer became a member of the Group Management of PolyGram and was appointed president and chief executive officer of newly formed parent company, PolyGram International Ltd. in 1983. He cut the workforce from 13,000 to 7,000, reduced PolyGram's LP and cassette plants from eighteen to five, and decreased the company's dependence on superstars by spreading the repertoire across different genres and nurturing national and regional talent. Also by 1983, PolyGram's U.S. roster of labels included:
* Polydor
* Mercury
* London
* London/FFRR
* Casablanca (until 1986, later to be reincarnated in 1994)
* RSO
* De-Lite
* Riva
* Threshold (owned by the Moody Blues)
* Total Experience (founded by Lonnie Simmons, from 1981 to 1984)
* Atlanta Artists (founded by Cameo lead singer Larry Blackmon)
...which were all consolidated into '''PolyGram Records, Inc.''' (now UMG Recordings, Inc.) In 1981, PolyGram launched domestic television syndication unit '''PolyGram Television''' (unrelated to the latter day incarnation that became [[Universal Television|Universal Worldwide Television]] in 1997), but it was soon folded after two years.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1983-05-09|title=PolyGram to fold|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/83-OCR/BC-1983-05-09-OCR-Page-0062.pdf|access-date=2021-09-20}}</ref>

Under its newly reorganized form, PolyGram decided to discontinue Philips as a pop and rock label in the UK and much of Europe, though it was still frequently issued records in France and South East Asia, where it issued many albums and singles by Chinese and Hong Kong pop artists. The majority of PolyGram's rock and pop music signings went to Mercury and Polydor. Philips became part of PolyGram Classics as a classical music label along with Decca Records and Deutsche Grammophon. By 1985, PolyGram had returned to profitability.

[[Wing Records]] was reincarnated in 1987 and became a very popular label over the following years, spawning the careers of [[Tony! Toni! Toné!]] and former [[Miss America]], [[Vanessa Williams]]; the label was discontinued in the mid-1990s. Fontana was revived in the U.S. in 1989, but only for a short while. Today, [[Fontana Distribution]] is an independent label distribution unit of Universal Music Group. [[Vertigo Records]] still remained a rare U.S. PolyGram label, as most of its music was from Europe.

In April 1982, PolyGram assumed operational and managerial control of [[20th Century Fox Records]] from [[20th Century Fox|its similarly named parent]], which had just recently been bought out by oil magnate [[Marvin Davis]], who was not interested in keeping the record company.<ref>{{cite news|title=PolyGram, 20th Tie Seen As Foundation For Buyout|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=1982-04-10|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1982/1982-04-10-Billboard-Page-0003.pdf|accessdate=2023-04-18}}</ref> The assets of the former 20th Century Fox Records were fully acquired by the firm in July 1982,<ref>{{cite news|title=PolyGram Firms 20th Ownership|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=1982-07-24|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1982/1982-07-24-Billboard-Page-0010.pdf|accessdate=2023-04-18}}</ref> and subsequently were consolidated with the Casablanca label.

After an attempted 1983 merger with [[Warner Music Group|Warner Elektra Atlantic]] failed, Philips bought 40% of PolyGram from Siemens, acquiring the remaining 10% in 1987.

In 1985, former CBS and Columbia executive [[Dick Asher]] was named president and CEO of PolyGram.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/18/business/business-people-polygram-records-names-president.html |title=BUSINESS PEOPLE; Polygram Records Names President |work=The New York Times |date=1985-10-18 |access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref> Asher was formerly the attorney for [[Don Kirshner]]'s [[Aldon Music]] music publishing company.

The CD, invented by Philips and [[Sony]], helped greatly in boosting the company's sales and market share. PolyGram's strength in classical music helped greatly, as many of the CD's early adopters were classical music lovers. Total US sales of CDs were $1 million in 1983, $334 million in 1990 and $943 million in 2000. Total UK sales were $300,000 in 1983, $51 million in 1990 and $202 million in 2000. The CD increased PolyGram's profit margin from 4-6% in the mid-1980s to 7-9% by the early 1990s. As well, videos were distributed by '''PolyGram Video'''.

In 1988, Philips acquired the remaining 50% of PolyGram from long-time partner Siemens and later in 1989, floated 16% of PolyGram on the Amsterdam stock exchange, valuing the whole company at $5.6 billion. PolyGram embarked on a new program of acquisitions, including [[A&M Records|A&M]]<ref>{{cite news|title= PolyGram buys A&M Records for $500 million|work= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1989-09-15|url= https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/09/15/PolyGram-buys-AM-Records-for-500-million/9559621835200/|accessdate=2023-04-18}}</ref> and [[Island Records]]<ref>{{cite news|title= Polygram Will Buy Island Records for About $300 Million|work= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1989-07-28|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-28-fi-294-story.html|accessdate=2023-04-18|first=William K.|last=Knoedelseder, Jr.}}</ref> in 1989, Swedish company [[Polar Music]] which held the rights to the [[ABBA]] catalogue, [[Motown]] and [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]] in 1994 and [[Rodven Records|Rodven]] (Venezuela) in 1995.

In 1990, after acquiring both Island and A&M, [[Alain Levy]], (then) executive vice-president of PolyGram N.V., re-organized the U.S. operations of PolyGram Records, Inc. into a new expanded conglomerate: '''PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc.''' In addition to overseeing the sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution of music and video products created by PolyGram, PGD was also responsible for supervising a number of other divisions within PolyGram (U.S.) such as: PolyGram Music Group, PolyGram Video, PolyMedia, PolyGram Special Markets, PolyGram Merchandising, Independent Label Sales (ILS) and New Media & Business Development.

PolyGram and [[Granada TV]] formed a joint venture, Big Picture Productions, in 1990 as a music programing firm which, at Cannes in 1990, purchased exclusive international distribution rights to ''Brown Sugar'' (The two-hour special featured black female performers and was hosted by [[Billy Dee Williams]]) from the New York–based Gene David Group.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Worldwide deal doings at Cannes|journal=Broadcasting|date=April 30, 1990|page=39|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1990/BC-1990-04-30.pdf|access-date=September 15, 2017|issn=0007-2028}}</ref>

In June 1991, Alain Levy was promoted to worldwide president and CEO of PolyGram N.V.

In 1993, PolyGram purchased the [[Virgin Films|video arm]] of [[Virgin Group]] from [[General Electric Capital]] for $5.6 million and remodeled the label as Vision Video ltd.

In 1995, PolyGram purchased [[ITC Entertainment]] for $156 million.<ref>PolyGram filmed entertainment acquires ITC Entertainment Group. ''Business Wire'' January 10, 1995.</ref><ref>PolyGram buys Itc for $156m. The Times, Wednesday, January 11, 1995; pg. 25</ref>