Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was formed in 1919 as a publicly-held company owned in part by AT&T and GE.

In 1929, RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous 'Victrola') and phonograph records, and became RCA-Victor. RCA Victor produced many radio-phonographs.

RCA Corporation declined in the 1970s and suffered financially as a result of over-diversification. This eventually led to RCA's sale to GE in 1986 and its subsequent break-up. GE sold its 50% interest in what was then RCA/Ariola International Records to its partner Bertelsmann and the company was renamed BMG Music for Bertelsmann Music Group.

In 2003, BMG was reorganised in the US creating the RCA Records Group which combined RCA Records, Arista Records and J Records.

In 2006, Sony BMG was reorganised and RCA became one of two main label groups in the UK.