Editing Warner Music Group (section)

===Warner Bros. Records and Early Acquisitions (1958–1969)===

The company's roots lie in the decision by [[Warner Bros.]] film studio to launch its own record label after one of its contracted actors, Tab Hunter, scored a No. 1 hit in 1957 for a rival studio's label. Warner Bros. Records was founded on March 19, 1958, with offices initially located above the film studio's machine shop in Burbank, California. In 1963, Warner acquired [[Reprise Records]], a boutique label that had been founded by [[Frank Sinatra]] in 1960 to give himself greater creative control over his recordings. With the Reprise acquisition came executive Mo Ostin, who would become the primary architect of Warner Bros. Records' reputation as one of the most artist-friendly labels in the American music industry. In 1966, Warner was sold to Seven Arts Productions, forming Warner Bros.–Seven Arts. The following year, in 1967, the combined entity acquired [[Atlantic Records]] — founded in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun — bringing in a catalogue that included [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Otis Redding]], and [[Wilson Pickett]].