Ariola Records is a German record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. As of the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of BMG

BMG

Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

 which in turn has since become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

 (SME). It still exists, after BMG's demise, as a division of SME.

Ariola setup several subsidiaries: Ariola America was founded in 1975

1975 in music

-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Ariola-Athena to release spoken word records, Ariola Benelux was founded in 1970

1970 in music

- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....

 to cover the Benelux

Benelux

The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...

 market, Ariola Eurodisc was a Spanish division of Ariola, founded in 1970, Ariola UK the UK based subsidiary of Ariola was founded in 1977

1977 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....

, Baccarola, Türküola for the Turkish market, Eurodisc to release disco records in France - most successfully with Amanda Lear

Amanda Lear

Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....

 and Jupiter Records for German schlager

Schlager

Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...

 music and disco like for instance group Dschinghis Khan

Dschinghis Khan

Dschinghis Khan was a West German pop band, created in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. The name of the band was chosen to fit the song of the same name, written and produced by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger....

.

It acquired both Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 and German rival label Hansa Records

Hansa Records

Hansa Records was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany....

 in 1979.

Ariola America also had a sister label called Ocean Records, which included on its roster actress/entertainer Ann-Margret

Ann-Margret

Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...

. It was active 1979 thru 1980.

In the 1980s, there was a software development division called Ariolasoft

Ariolasoft

Ariolasoft GmbH, later known as United Software, was a German computer game developer, publisher and distributor. It started as the software subsidiary of Ariola Records...

.

BMG International, N.V. was a record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 based in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, established in 1974. It created a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 division of Ariola Records with BMG Music Canada

BMG Music Canada

BMG Music Canada was the Canadian division of BMG, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Previously working for Henri Dès albums, it acquired the Lanoraie, Quebec-based Interdisc Distribution Inc...

.