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Topic: Columbia [US] - Cat# prefixes

2nd Aug 2014, 3:43 AM
	Jock_Girl A girl who looks good in vinyl Member since Dec 2012 1544 Points Moderator	Aha! I was correct. Here is a quote from here: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/columbia-album-prefixes.87545/ Originally, when Columbia started the 30000 series in 1970, the prefix was simply "C"; list price of those albums was $4.98. "KC," which actually had its roots in the 1960s with the occasional "KCL" (mono) or "KCS" (stereo) prefix, had a list price of $5.98. "PC" was first used in 1973 when some big-name artists' LPs were issued with a $6.98 list price. Columbia later revived the "PC" prefix when it began to issue mid-priced LPs (usually reissues) with a $5.98 (later $6.98) list, but these later PCs can almost always be identified because they have a bar code on the back cover. Original PCs from the 1970s do NOT have a bar code on them. "JC" was first used in late 1976, this time with a list price change to $7.98. The next change in Columbia prefix was to "FC" ($8.98); later still, "TC," "QC" and "OC" were used for $9.98 and even $10.98 list LPs. Also, Columbia's Half-Speed Mastered LPs of the 1980s had an "HC" prefix. Quadraphonic LPs added a letter to the end of the prefix rather than the beginning, thus most were "CQ" or "PCQ." Multi-record sets also added things after the "C," usually a number that indicated the number of records (2, 3, etc.) and an "X" if it was a box set, but for budget-priced two-record sets, the extra digit was usually not a number but the letter "G." In the 1980s, there also were albums with three letters, usually "BFC"; these are early pressings of certain LPs that were released at a lower list price. If they became popular, they were re-released without the "B" (as "FC") with a revised bar code (usually adding an "02" to the number on the back) and a higher price. I've seen other prefixes as well, including "NJC" (same general idea as "BFC"), "3C" (lower list price than PC) and "XM" (reissues of classical Christmas albums; I don't think I've ever seen an "XC"). Again, the best way to see if a Columbia 1980s album is an original or reissue is to check the bar code for an extra two digits at the end. All these prefixes apply to other CBS labels as well, including Epic (last letter E), Portrait (last letter R), classical Masterworks (last letter M), soundtrack and original cast albums (last letter S), various labels that became known as CBS Associated (last letter Z), and Chrysalis in most of the 1980s (last letter V). Columbia stopped using multi-letter prefixes on LPs in 1990. From then on, new vinyl records have prefixes of "C," "E," etc. Compact discs are "CK" and cassettes are "CT."