PolyGram in the context of "Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song)"

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⭐ Core Definition: PolyGram

PolyGram N.V. was a multinational major music record label and entertainment company formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a holding for their record companies, and was renamed "PolyGram" in 1972. The name was chosen to reflect the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records. The company traced its origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to the inventor of the flat disc gramophone, Emil Berliner.

Later on, PolyGram expanded into the largest global entertainment company, creating film and television divisions. In May 1998, it was sold to the alcoholic distiller Seagram which owned film, television and music company Universal Studios. PolyGram's music operations were thereby folded into Universal Music Group, and its film and television operations were folded into Universal Pictures, which had been both Seagram successors of MCA Inc. When the newly formed entertainment division of Seagram faced financial difficulties, it was sold to Vivendi, and MCA became known as Universal Studios, as Seagram ceased to exist. Vivendi remains the majority owner of the Universal Music Group (while the film and television division was sold to NBCUniversal) until 2021. In February 2017, UMG revived the company under the name of PolyGram Entertainment, which currently serves as their film and television division.

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👉 PolyGram in the context of Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song)

"Hand in Hand" (Korean: 손에 손 잡고; RR: Sone son japgo) is a song by South Korean band Koreana that was the official theme song of the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. It is sung in both Korean and English and was produced by Giorgio Moroder. Its English lyrics were written by Tom Whitlock while its Korean lyrics were penned by Kim Moon-hwan.

"Hand in Hand" topped the music charts of several European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. It has since been translated and covered several times. In 2013, Moroder said that the original singer of the demo recording that he presented to PolyGram was Joe Pizzulo, not Koreana.

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PolyGram in the context of Philips

Koninklijke Philips N.V. (lit. 'Royal Philips'), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology and former consumer electronics company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is still in Eindhoven. The company gained its royal honorary title in 1998.

Philips was founded by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik, with their first products being light bulbs. Through the 20th century, it grew into one of the world's largest electronics conglomerates, with global market dominance in products ranging from kitchen appliances and electric shavers to light bulbs, televisions, cassettes, and compact discs (both of which were invented by Philips). At one point, it played a dominant role in the entertainment industry (through PolyGram). However in the 2010s the company began downsizing, selling its TV manufacturing (becoming TP Vision), lighting (becoming Signify), and home appliance units (becoming Versuni), eventually becoming a healthcare-focused company.

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PolyGram in the context of Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which became an independent company just before the Second World War. The American spin-off became a subsidiary of MCA Inc. in 1962. Known for its technical innovations, the British parent company grew to become the second most successful recording company in Britain and celebrated fifty years of existence in 1979, shortly before being sold to PolyGram. Both Decca and its former subsidiary were subsequently acquired by Universal Music.

Decca and its American spin-off both built up strong catalogues of popular music. In their first two decades, their artists included Gertrude Lawrence, George Formby, Jack Hylton and Vera Lynn in Britain and Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, the Andrews Sisters and the Mills Brothers in the US. Later performers in their popular catalogues included in the US Bill Haley & His Comets and Buddy Holly plus in the UK Elvis Presley (licensed from RCA Records), Tommy Steele, Lonnie Donegan, Chuck Berry (licensed from Chess Records), Johnny Cash (licensed from Sun Records), Eddie Cochran (licensed from Liberty Records), and the Rolling Stones.

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PolyGram in the context of Island Records

Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s.

Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Imran Majid and Justin Eshak who were named co-CEOs of Island Records in 2021. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.

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