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Regal (3)

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US shellac label which ran from 1921 to 1932. For the The Gramophone Co. Ltd./EMI label please use [l=Regal]. Regal was introduced by the [l52594] in 1921 as a mid-priced (50¢) alternative to [l335126], which retailed for 85¢. These earliest issues drew on Emerson masters exclusively, but nearly all issues were pseudonymous. The label was an immediate success. While Regal succeeded, its parent company struggled financially. When the [l52594] went into receivership in early 1922, both Emerson and its Regal subsidiary were sold to Benjamin Abrams of the [l510849]. The [l577104] was reorganized and sold to the [l567964], an independent pressing plant. The [l510849] remained as Regal's sales and marketing arm. No longer affiliated with Emerson, Regal licensed [l93131] masters from [l464821] for most of 1922. However, by the end of the year most recording had been contracted to the [l572906], and in 1924 Regal acquired IRL. The alliance between the [l577104], the [l510849], the [l572906] and the [l567964] lasted until 1929. Throughout the 1920s, the Regal and [l161008] catalogs were virtually identical, although couplings and pseudonyms often differed. In 1929, the [l577104] was merged with the [l404406] and the [l567964] to form the [l477618]. After 1929 ARC slowly phased Regal out in favor of [l161008]. The last new issues were released in July 1931 and the label was discontinued in early 1932.