Allied Record Company

Defunct American record pressing plant/cassette and CD manufacturer in Los Angeles, California. Operating under this name from 1962 until the end of 1996. Known as Allied Record Manufacturing Company prior to 1962. Purchased by Warner Communications Inc. in 1979 to become part of WEA Manufacturing (along with Specialty Records Corporation). Record pressing assets were sold to Music Connection, Inc., and moved to Pennsylvania to form 33 ⅓ RPM in 2002. CD Identification CDs pressed at Allied have an "ARC" in the matrix. If there is both "ARC" and "SRC", then the CD was pressed at Allied but the glass master came from Specialty Records Corporation. CDs with an Allied Record Company logo were glass-mastered at Allied Record Company in the mid-1990s before the plant was renamed WEA Mfg. Commerce around 1997. In these cases, credit Allied with Glass Mastered At and the respective plant with Pressed By. Allied adopted SID Mastering Codes in 1996. Their codes are IFPI L911and IFPI L912. The mastering code is most often times cut off at the bottom because of a lower placement in the disc matrix. Allied had a SID Mould Code 2V**. Allied had a sequential job number, Prefixed with either a 'A' or a 'B', identifying different Laser Beam Recorders (LBR's), which predated the adoption of Mastering SID codes. The earliest currently known 'A' is A310 (Pure And Simple) and the earliest currently known 'B' is B39 (Happy Holidays From ASCAP). Upon the adoption of Mastering SID codes 'A' paired with IFPI L911 and 'B' paired with IFPI L912 in the matrix. Use of the SID codes and sequential numbers was continued by WEA Mfg. Commerce. Note The presence of Allied's "ɑ" logo in the CD matrix can be easily mistaken for a "Q" or "Ꝗ" or "Ω" but is actually a lowercase Greek alpha. In BaOI, add "[Allied 'ɑ' logo]" Allied Record Company preceding the rest of the matrix string in the Matrix/Runout line. This is not to be used as a PPID. CD LCCN Roles Glass Mastered at with only "ARC" (I.E. without "SRC" also being present) in the matrix + sequential number, including the 'A' or 'B' prefix. Pressed By with "ARC" and "SRC" both present in the matrix. Pressed By with IFPI 2V** mould SID Code and "ARC" in the matrix. Vinyl Records Identification Vinyl records may be both plated at and/or pressed by Allied. Allied and its sister plant (after 1979) Specialty Records Corporation frequently shared metalwork. The presence of Allied's "ɑ" logo stamped into the runout groove area (easily mistaken for a "Q" or "Ꝗ" or "Ω" but is actually a lowercase Greek alpha, sometimes with a Warner "W" within), or other Allied indicators, should not be used to determine pressing lineage alone, such as when other plants are present. In BaOI, add "[Allied 'ɑ' logo]" at its position in the matrix string in the runout field. This is not to be used as a PPID. Vinyl records – printed pressing identifiers These identifiers can usually be relied upon to determine pressing, and can be added as a PPID in the BaOI fields. 1.) A lone "A" embossed around the center spindle hole in the LP label area on one or both sides (introduced circa 1979 or later, after the acquisition by WEA). Example: 8 2.) "22" printed on the labels of pressings from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s for Mercury/Polydor/PolyGram and related labels. (Not to be confused with "22" lightly etched in runouts, which are from All Disc Records, Inc.) Example: Down On The Street 3.) "75" printed on the labels of U.S. K-Tel releases (after 1974). Example: Masters Of Metal 4.) "-AR" appended to the printed matrix numbers (e.g., ST-A-12345-AR) on the labels of WEA/Atlantic/Warner Bros. Records-related releases (including sublabels and partner labels). Example: Turn Up The Love 5.) "(AR)" printed on the labels of Elektra releases. Example: Body Language Record pressing identifiers 1.) Allied "ɑ" logo stamped into the runout groove area (and no other pressing plant indicated). Examples: Musique Non Stop, Walking A Changing Line 2.) LP pressing ring measurements: 1962–1973: Flat label with 2.875"/73mm pressing ring. 1974–1981: Flat label with either a 1"/26mm pressing ring, or 1.34"/34mm pressing ring. 1981–closure: "Muffin-style" depressed-center label with ~2.84"/72mm outer ring and 1.38"/35mm inner ring. Note: rings alone should not be used for identification. They are a confirmation, not a primary identifier. 3.) 7-inch records are made of styrene with label sizes of 90.5mm (3.5630"), a white label color (whiter than on Specialty labels). The label placement area rim is ~91.5mm (3.6024"), and the record size 173mm (6.8110"). The small holes on the labels are 7.3mm (0.2874"). Example: Change In The Weather Vinyl records – plating 1.) Matrix plating order number per-side codes: X-### (3 to 4 digits) – 7": ~1963–1971 K-### (3 to 5 digits) – 7": 1971–1975 R-### (3 to 5 digits) – 7": 1976–~1989 B-##### (5 digits) – LP/12": ~1969–~1989 Each unique number per side can be added as an LCCN catalog number for Plated At: Plated At – Allied Record Company – B-12345 Plated At – Allied Record Company – B-12346 (Example: Heaven Up Here) Plated At – Allied Record Company – R-1234 Plated At – Allied Record Company – R-1235 (Example: Pocket Calculator) Note: The B-##### (and R-####) etchings have been confirmed by Allied employees as being per-side order numbers to catalog the metal parts, added to each metal mother disc set before stampers are created from it. The B-##### (or R-#####) codes may be appended by letters or numbers (e.g., B-12345-SP), indicating from where Allied received the fathers. When these appear, Plated At can be credited for the respective pressing plant: B-#####-SH = Sheffield Lab Matrix (Example: Chains of Love) B-#####-SP = Specialty Records Corporation (Example: Music From Siesta) 2.) Records that have the Allied "ɑ" logo stamped into the runout groove area and a "B-#####"-type matrix number in the runouts were added during plating (processing/metalwork of mothers) at Allied Record Company. 3.) Records that have the Allied "ɑ" logo along with an "AL-SP" etching and a "B-#####"-type matrix number in the runouts were plated (processing/metalwork of mothers) at Allied Record Company but the record itself was actually pressed at Specialty Records Corporation. Example: Sea Hunt 4.) Records that have the "SRC" logo along with a "SP-AR" etching and a "B-#####"-type matrix number in the runouts were plated (processing/metalwork of the fathers) at Specialty Records Corporation but the record itself was plated (processing/metalwork of mothers) and pressed at Allied Record Company. Example: The Pretender 5.) Records that have the Allied "ɑ" logo along with an "SLM" stamp/etching and a "△####"-type matrix number in the runouts were plated (processing/metalwork of the fathers) at Sheffield Lab Matrix and plated (processing/metalwork of the mothers) at Allied Record Company. Example: Street Corner Heroes For international releases, the destined market code is usually added as well (e.g., INTL, GER, UK, ITALY, etc.), but is not identifying a specific plant. 6.) Records that have "SH-AR" in the runouts were plated at Sheffield Lab Matrix and pressed by Allied Record Company. Example: I Can't Stand Still Cassettes Cassettes duplicated at Allied have "AR" printed on the cassette itself. Credit Allied with Duplicated By. Example: The Best Of Marlboro Country Music Volume I History This plant was originally the first of two pressing plants owned by Allied Record Manufacturing Company (Allied Record Manufacturing Company was bought by Precision Radiation Instruments (PRI) in 1961). Allied Record Company was formed and (re)established in 1962 when Draken Broadhead (former owner of Allied Record Manufacturing Company) bought back the Allied name, this pressing plant (the other former Allied Record Manufacturing Company pressing plant in Belleville, New Jersey, remained under PRI's ownership), and "Allied Record Sales" from the Tops Records' parent company P.R.I. (Precision Radiation Instruments). Allied Record Company remained an independent pressing plant until it was purchased by Warner Communications Inc. in 1979, becoming a branch of WEA Manufacturing Inc. (along with sister plant Specialty Records Corporation). The Allied Record Company (ARC) name was phased out by WEA at the end of 1996. Legal entity chronology: California company number: 0197732 Incorporated: 12 April 1945, as "California Record Corp." First name change: 29 May 1952, to "Allied Record Sales Company" Second name change: 24 July 1961, to "General Record Sales Company" Third name change: 16 August 1962, to "Allied Record Company" Merged into "WEA Manufacturing Of California Inc." on 14 May 1982 Dissolved: 6 December 1999 (merged into "WEA Manufacturing Inc.")