Rachmaninoff recorded first for Edison Records on their "Diamond Disc" records, since they claimed the best audio fidelity in recording the piano at the time. Edison, who was quite deaf, didn't care for Rachmaninoff's playing and referred to him as a "pounder".
48 Rachmaninoff believed his own performances to be variable in quality and requested that he be allowed to approve any recordings for commercial release. Edison agreed but still issued multiple takes, a common practice in the gramophone record industry at the time.
Edison agreed but still issued multiple takes, a common practice in the gramophone record industry at the time. This angered Rachmaninoff, and he left Edison and signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1920 and with its successor, RCA Victor.
^ Young, 1986. ^ Ziemann, George (October, 2003), Thomas Edison, Intellectual Property and the Recording Industry, http://www.