Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly referred to as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, commonly shortened to MGM) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Culver City, California. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded on April 17, 1924, and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon since 2022.

MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well-known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious filmmaking company, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters, and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of Ben Hur. It divested itself of the Loews movie theater chain and, in 1956, expanded into television production.

In 1969, businessman and investor Kirk Kerkorian bought 40% of MGM and dramatically changed the operation and direction of the studio. He hired new management, reduced the studio's output to about five films per year, and diversified its products, creating MGM Resorts International as a Las Vegas–based hotel and casino company. In 1980, Kerkorian split MGM into two separate companies to focus on its hotels and resorts. The studio was rebranded as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Co., and in 1981, acquired United Artists (UA). In 1986, Kerkorian sold MGM/UA to Ted Turner, who retained the rights to the MGM film library, sold the studio lot in Culver City to Lorimar, and sold the remnants of MGM back to Kerkorian a few months later. After Kerkorian sold and reacquired the company again in the 1990s, he expanded MGM by purchasing Orion Pictures and the Samuel Goldwyn Company, including both of their film libraries. Finally in 2005, Kerkorian sold MGM to a consortium that included Sony Pictures.

MGM was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until 1986 when it was sold to Turner. The company had its third IPO on the same exchange in 1997.

In 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and reorganization. After reorganization, it emerged from bankruptcy later that year under its creditors' ownership. Two former executives at Spyglass Entertainment, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of MGM's new holding company. After Barber's departure in 2018, the studio sought to be acquired by another company to pay its creditors. In May 2021, Amazon acquired MGM for US$8.45 billion; the deal closed in March 2022. In October 2023, Amazon Studios absorbed MGM Holdings and rebranded itself as Amazon MGM Studios. As of 2023, its most commercially successful film franchises include James Bond and Rocky, while its most recent television productions include Fargo and The Handmaid's Tale.

As a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios, MGM is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA); it was a founding member before leaving in the 2005 Sony acquisition.

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1932

Roles Represented in DAHR: Motion picture production company

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 554 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor MVE-46234 16-in. 7/10/1928 White shadows in the south seas : Overture Motion Picture Orchestra Orchestra, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46235 16-in. 7/10/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46237 16-in. 7/11/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solo Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46238 16-in. 7/11/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46239 16-in. 7/11/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46240 16-in. 7/12/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solo and whistling Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46241 16-in. 7/12/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with whistling Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46242 16-in. 7/12/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solo Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46243 16-in. 7/13/1928 White shadows in the south seas Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46383 16-in. 12/6/1928 Ruby lips Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46384 16-in. 12/6/1928 Ruby lips Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46723 16-in. 8/6/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46724 16-in. 8/6/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46725 16-in. 8/6/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46726 16-in. 8/6/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus (take 1A); with whistling (takes 2A-3A) Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46727 16-in. 8/7/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with female vocal solo and mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46728 16-in. 8/8/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46729 16-in. 8/8/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46730 16-in. 8/8/1928 Excess baggage Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46734 16-in. 8/9/1928 The ol' gray hoss Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46753 16-in. 8/10/1928 The ol' gray hoss Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46754 16-in. 8/10/1928 School begins Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46755 16-in. 8/10/1928 School begins Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46756 16-in. 8/9/1928 White shadows of the south seas : Overture Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Orchestra, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus Motion picture production company  
Victor MVE-46757 16-in. 8/11/1928 Imagine my embarrassment Motion Picture Orchestra Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with vocal solo and hand clapping Motion picture production company  
(Results 1-25 of 554 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102679.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102679.

"Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102679

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