Phonogram Inc. was started in 1962 as a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of
Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and
Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the name of a parent company that owned and or distributed many different record companies. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with
Polydor Records into
PolyGram. Following PolyGram's acquisition of
Mercury in the U.S., they changed the corporate name of Mercury Record Productions, Inc. to Phonogram, Inc.