Bellaphon Records | |
Founder: | Branislav Zivanovic |
Genre: | Various |
Country: | Germany |
Location: | Frankfurt |
Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels.
Bellaphon were founded in 1961 by Branislav "Branco" Zivanovic (1923–1993). The company is headquartered in Frankfurt.
In 1972, Bellaphon Records Riedel & Co. KG owned Bellaphon Records and Admiral Records.
In 1972, Bellaphon Records Riedel & Co. KG represented Musidisc (France); Orange and Reflection (both of the United Kingdom); Audio Fidelity, Bang, Brunswick, Cadet, Cadet/Concept, Casablanca, Checker, Chess, Fantasy/Galaxy, and Hot Wax (all of the United States); Janus and GRT (both of Canada).
In 1982, Bellaphon Import was the distributor of 65 small German rock, pop, and jazz labels throughout West Germany. The labels included Bacillus and a popular jazz and blues label, L&R.<ref name="Billboard 1982 Aug 21" /> Other notable labels distributed by Bellaphon included Concord and Enja.
Branco Zivanovic died on May 29, 1993, in Frankfurt, while serving as President of Bellaphon. His widow, Jutta Zivanovic-Riedel, took over as head of the company. She reportedly did not have a good hand for this business and lost the distributed labels and nearly all the artists over the years. Only a few German schlager artists (e.g. Gaby Baginsky, Michael Morgan) and a few international artists (Olivia Newton-John, Graeham Goble) were left to distribute.