Columbia House

Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The brand was introduced in the early 1970s and had a significant market presence during then, as well as the 1980s and early 1990s.

History
In 1981, Columbia Records' parent company, CBS Inc., formed the CBS Video Library, which not only released content from CBS Productions, CBS Inc.'s television division, but also had licensing agreements with other motion picture and television companies. The following year, in 1982, the CBS Video Library officially became part of the Columbia House family. In January 1988, CBS Inc. sold its CBS Records Group division, which included the Columbia House brand, to Sony Corporation, a Japanese-based electronics conglomerate. The following year, in 1989, the CBS Video Library was renamed to the Columbia House Video Library, or simply known as Columbia House Video. In 1991, the CBS Records Group was renamed to Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and Sony Corporation itself sold a 50% stake in Columbia House to Time Warner, then-parent company of Time-Life. By late 1991, membership was over 10 million. In early 1992, home video divisions of various motion picture and television companies began selling their own releases through the Columbia House Video catalog. In 1996, club membership was at 16 million and Columbia House launched their website.

In 2002, Columbia House exited the video business, and in 2004, Sony Music Entertainment Inc. was merged with Bertelsmann Music Group to form Sony-BMG Music Entertainment Inc. The following year, in 2005, Columbia House was renamed to BMG-Columbia House, Inc. In 2008, Sony-BMG Music Entertainment Inc. was renamed back to Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Technically, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. still owns the Columbia House brand, but as of 2013, the brand is licensed to Edge Line Ventures LLC.

List of licensing distributors

 * Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (1988-2002)
 * Paramount Home Entertainment (1988-2002)
 * MGM/UA Home Video (1993-1999)
 * Warner Home Video (1995-2002)
 * Turner Home Entertainment (1988-1997)
 * New Line Home Video (1992-2002)

Locations

 * New York City, New York