Nacional Records
Encyclopedia
Max Glücksmann, born was an Argentine Jewish pioneer of the music and film industries.
, and emigrated to Argentina in 1890.
Shortly after his arrival in Buenos Aires
, Glücksmann began to work as a photographic assistant at the Casa Lepage, a company that imported photographic materials, along with Eugene Py
.
Soon after the foundation of Odeon Records
in 1904, Glücksmann was appointed as the importation agent, in Argentina
, for European machines and records. He was successful, and soon involved himself in making local records under his own name, Discos Glücksmann. Because of the distances involved, and possibly because of Glücksmann's nationality, Odeon agreed to build a processing and pressing plant for him in Buenos Aires
, throwing in a resident Berlin
-trained engineer for good measure. (These were the days, pre-World War I
, when Argentina had one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world.)
Glücksmann set out to capture the tango
market, a task he managed very successfully. By 1914 he had essentially gained overall control of the Argentine record industry, marginalising his only competitor, Victor, by the simple expedient of signing exclusive long-term contracts with the best musicians and, more cannily, the best song writers. Thus Glücksmann had exclusive copyrights to all the hits. Glücksmann controlled the sheet-music and silent movie house business, and had a virtual monopoly on tango until the 1920s. Far from making himself hated by this arrangement, he became a folk hero among musicians by his introduction of royalties
, both in music-publishing and in record-making, for the first time in Argentina.
Discos Glücksmann were Argentinized to Discos Nacional-Glücksmann, later simply to Discos Nacional and finally, after the foundation of EMI
in 1931, to Disco Nacional-Odeon
, the standard label in Argentina, Brazil
and Uruguay
for the products of Industrias Eléctricas y Musicales Odeón, S. A., i.e., Argentine EMI.
Biography
Glücksmann was born in Czernowitz, then part of the Austrian EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, and emigrated to Argentina in 1890.
Shortly after his arrival in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Glücksmann began to work as a photographic assistant at the Casa Lepage, a company that imported photographic materials, along with Eugene Py
Eugène Py
Eugène Py was a major early French cameraman, cinematographer and film director and is widely considered the founding pioneer of the Cinema of Argentina....
.
Soon after the foundation of Odeon Records
Odeon Records
Odeon Records was a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. It was named after a famous theatre in Paris, whose classical dome appears on the Odeon record label....
in 1904, Glücksmann was appointed as the importation agent, in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, for European machines and records. He was successful, and soon involved himself in making local records under his own name, Discos Glücksmann. Because of the distances involved, and possibly because of Glücksmann's nationality, Odeon agreed to build a processing and pressing plant for him in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, throwing in a resident Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-trained engineer for good measure. (These were the days, pre-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when Argentina had one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world.)
Glücksmann set out to capture the tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
market, a task he managed very successfully. By 1914 he had essentially gained overall control of the Argentine record industry, marginalising his only competitor, Victor, by the simple expedient of signing exclusive long-term contracts with the best musicians and, more cannily, the best song writers. Thus Glücksmann had exclusive copyrights to all the hits. Glücksmann controlled the sheet-music and silent movie house business, and had a virtual monopoly on tango until the 1920s. Far from making himself hated by this arrangement, he became a folk hero among musicians by his introduction of royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, both in music-publishing and in record-making, for the first time in Argentina.
Discos Glücksmann were Argentinized to Discos Nacional-Glücksmann, later simply to Discos Nacional and finally, after the foundation of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1931, to Disco Nacional-Odeon
Odeon
Odea, Odeon, or Odeum may refer to:* Odeon , ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions-Modern era:* Cineplex Odeon, North America...
, the standard label in Argentina, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
for the products of Industrias Eléctricas y Musicales Odeón, S. A., i.e., Argentine EMI.