Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers, instrumentalists and groups.
Today it is a premier subsidiary label of Sony Music Entertainment. Steve Barnett and Rick Rubin are the co-heads of Columbia Records. Until 1989, Columbia Records had no connection to Columbia Pictures, which used various other names for record labels they owned, including Arista.
That label is now a sister label to Columbia through Sony Music.