Editing Decca Records (section)

===Post-war===
[[File:FFRR logo.svg|thumb|upright=.6|Decca's ffrr logo|alt=circular trademark showing a human ear next to the letters ffrr; a border reads "Full Frequency Range Recording".]]
On 8 June 1945 Decca announced that its ffrr (full frequency range recording) system had been "in daily use for the past twelve months".<ref>Stuart, p. 88</ref> The company's publicity manager, Francis Attwood, suggested a new trademark consisting of the letters "ffrr" coming out of a human ear. This was adopted and Lewis later observed that Attwood's design was "to become of immense value".<ref>Barfe, p. 149</ref> The dramatically enhanced frequency range now possible prompted Decca to move its main London recording venue from the [[West Hampstead]] studios to the acoustically superb [[Kingsway Hall]] in 1944.<ref>Stuart, p. 20</ref> Ansermet conducted what Dearling calls "the first important ffrr release", [[Stravinsky]]'s ''[[Petrushka]]'', recorded there in February 1946.<ref>Dearling, p. 93</ref><ref>Stuart, p. 108</ref>

Another technical advance that greatly benefited Decca was the invention of the [[long-playing record]] (LP), pressed on vinyl rather than shellac and playing for five times longer than [[Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments|78 r.p.m.]] discs. The technology was pioneered in the US by [[Columbia Records]] and in Europe by Decca. From 1948 to 1950 Decca concentrated its efforts on exporting LPs for the American market and it was not until June 1950 that Decca LPs became available in Britain. The playing time of LP made recordings of complete operas considerably more viable than hitherto, and Decca recorded [[Mozart]]'s {{lang|de|[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]}} (The Seraglio) in Vienna in June 1950 and [[Wagner]]'s four-and-a-half-hour {{lang|de|[[Die Meistersinger]]}} (The Mastersingers) in 1951–52.<ref>Stuart, pp. 1094 and 1096</ref> Decca's main British rival, EMI, comprising the [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]], [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] and [[Parlophone]] labels, lagged behind, having initially reached the conclusion that there was no future in LP, devoting itself instead to an unsuccessful two-year attempt to perpetuate the 78 format.<ref>Culshaw (1967), p. 21</ref>

Most recording contracts had expired or lapsed during the war, and consequently many eminent artists, previously exclusive to rival labels, could be enticed by Decca's technical edge. The company instituted an ambitious programme of international classical recordings in many European centres, building up an artist roster comparable with those of its pre-war competitors. For the first time since the 1930s Decca was able to resume full-price releases. A mainstay of the orchestral catalogue was provided by Ansermet and his [[Suisse Romande Orchestra]] in [[Geneva]], who recorded for Decca from 1949 to 1968.<ref>Stuart, pp. 935 and 1005</ref> [[Peter Pears]] signed with the company in 1944, [[Kathleen Ferrier]] in 1946, [[Julius Katchen]] in 1947 and the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] – hitherto exclusive to EMI – in 1949.<ref>Stuart, pp. 16 and 159</ref> In 1950 the [[Vienna Philharmonic]], also contracted to EMI until then, entered into an exclusive contract with Decca.<ref name=c96>Culshaw (1981), p. 96</ref> Other former EMI artists who joined Decca were [[Wilhelm Backhaus]] and [[Wilhelm Kempff]].<ref name=c96/>

From the late 1940s on, the American Decca had a sizeable roster of [[country music|country]] artists. The main architect of American Decca's success in country music was [[Owen Bradley]], who joined American Decca in 1947 and was later promoted to vice president and head of A&R for the Nashville operations in 1958.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7goEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18 |title=Billboard – Google Books |date=21 April 1958 |access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref>

In 1947, Lewis, finding the now independent US Decca uncooperative in distributing British recordings, set up a new American subsidiary, [[London Records]].<ref>Barfe, p. 151</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3zdJ66VAOQC&dq=billboard+%2B+%22london+records%22+%2B+%22decca+records+%2B+founded+%2B+1947&pg=PA400 | isbn=978-0-252-09401-9 | title=Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers | date=11 August 2011 | publisher=University of Illinois Press }}</ref>