The American Record Corporation (ARC), which included the Columbia label in the US, was bought by Columbia Broadcasting System in 1938. CBS was originally co-founded by Columbia Records.

In 1951, CBS severed its decades long distribution arrangement with EMI and signed a distribution deal with Philips Records outside North America.

In 1961, CBS ended its arrangement with Philips Records and formed its own international organisation, CBS Records, which released Columbia recordings outside the USA and Canada on the CBS label.

In 1988 CBS Records was acquired by Sony.