RCA music service
RCA
music service was launched on january 1, 1958 as the RCA victor society of
great music, changing its name almost immediately to RCA victor record club.
With the rise in popularity of cassette and 8-track tape formats, the club's
name was changed to RCA music service in mid-1971, with advertisements placed
in all major U.S. magazines. Some early RCA music service releases may be
found with RCA music club printed on them.
After bertelsmann ag acquired RCA from general electric in december 1986,
RCA direct marketing, iInc. changed its name to BMG direct marketing, inc.
in april 1987, keeping the RCA music service name until january 1st, 1989,
when the club was renamed BMG music service.
RCA music service cat #s are a letter followed by a six-digit number, with
the letter indicating the format (C=Cassette, R=LP, S=8-track) and the first
digit of the number is the number of LPs or equivalent for tape releases.