Misplaced Pages

#247752

74-436: Later on, PolyGram expanded into the largest global entertainment company, creating film and television divisions. In May 1998, it was sold to the alcoholic distiller Seagram which owned film, television and music company Universal Studios . PolyGram was thereby folded into Universal Music Group , and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment was folded into Universal Pictures , which had been both Seagram successors of MCA Inc. When

148-520: A 50% stake in Casablanca (US) in 1977 (with the remaining 50% in 1980), Pickwick in 1978, and Decca (UK) in 1980 (the latter acquisition basically brought PolyGram full circle, see the HDD section above). PolyGram acquired United Distribution Corporation (UDC) in 1973, and changed its name to Phonodisc, Inc., and signed international distribution deals with MCA and 20th Century Records in 1976. In

222-412: A classical music label along with Decca Records and Deutsche Grammophon. By 1985, PolyGram had returned to profitability. Wing Records was reincarnated in 1987 and became a very popular label over the following years, spawning the careers of Tony! Toni! Toné! and former Miss America , Vanessa Williams ; the label was discontinued in the mid-1990s. Fontana was revived in the U.S. in 1989, but only for

296-583: A concentration over 50%. Beer and wine , which are not distilled, typically have a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as most yeasts cannot metabolize when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; as a consequence, fermentation ceases at that point. The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid is the Latin verb liquere , meaning 'to be fluid'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ), an early use of

370-598: A distributor in the Netherlands. By 1931, his company Hollandsche Decca Distributie ( HDD ) had become exclusive Decca distributor for all of the Netherlands and its colonies. Over the course of the 1930s, HDD put together its own facilities for A&R , recording, and manufacturing. HDD was commercially successful during World War II because of the absence of American and British competition. Van Zoelen wanted to sell to Philips so that HDD would have sufficient financial backing when their major competitors returned after

444-405: A given year in a country. In Europe, spirits (especially vodka) are more popular in the north and east of the continent. Distilled spirits contain ethyl alcohol , the same chemical that is present in beer and wine , and as such, spirit consumption has short-term psychological and physiological effects on the user. Different concentrations of alcohol in the human body have different effects on

518-571: A large factory in Baarn and factories in France, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Nigeria, and Brazil. PPI played an important role in the introduction of the long-playing vinyl record to Europe. Columbia introduced their LP record in 1948, and Philips presented its first LP at a record retailers' convention in 1949. Philips' commitment to LP technology was an important factor in its 1951–1961 deal with Columbia. In 1962, PPI and DGG formed

592-418: A manufacturing-only business plan. (In hindsight, analysts have pointed out how Philips ultimately benefitted from the manufacture and sale of blank CDs, which played a significant part in the music piracy that began to affect the industry in the early 2000s.) After weeks of speculation, on May 22, 1998, Philips announced that they would sell PolyGram to Seagram for $ 10 billion. Some of the reasons cited for

666-409: A number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists. Its medicinal properties were studied by Arnald of Villanova (1240–1311 CE) and John of Rupescissa (c. 1310–1366), the latter of whom regarded it as a life-preserving substance able to prevent all diseases (the aqua vitae or "water of life", also called by John

740-531: A person. The effects of alcohol depend on the amount an individual has drunk, the percentage of alcohol in the spirits and the timespan over which the consumption took place. The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor , unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol , so once it

814-472: A short while. Today, Fontana Distribution is an independent label distribution unit of Universal Music Group. Vertigo Records still remained a rare U.S. PolyGram label, as most of its music was from Europe. In April 1982, PolyGram assumed operational and managerial control of 20th Century Fox Records from its similarly named parent , which had just recently been bought out by oil magnate Marvin Davis , who

SECTION 10

#1732776783248

888-518: A trend in the United States following the microbrewing and craft beer movement in the last decades of the 20th century. Liquor that contains 40% ABV (80 US proof ) will catch fire if heated to about 26 °C (79 °F) and if an ignition source is applied to it. This temperature is called its flash point . The flash point of pure alcohol is 16.6 °C (61.9 °F), less than average room temperature. The flammability of liquor

962-421: Is also prohibited in some local jurisdictions). Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain high-percentage alcohol, commonly known as neutral spirit . Due to its flammability (see below) alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 70% by volume are not permitted to be transported in aircraft. Microdistilling (also known as craft distilling) began to re-emerge as

1036-409: Is an alcoholic beverage that has been produced: Spirit drinks must contain at least 15% ABV (except in the case of egg liqueur such as Advocaat , which must contain a minimum of 14% ABV). Regulation makes a difference between "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin" and a "distillate of agricultural origin". Distillate of agricultural origin is defined as an alcoholic liquid that is the result of

1110-411: Is applied in the cooking technique flambé . The flash points of alcohol concentrations from 10% to 96% by weight are: Liquor can be served: The World Health Organization (WHO) measures and publishes alcohol consumption patterns in different countries. The WHO measures alcohol consumed by persons 15 years of age or older and reports it on the basis of liters of pure alcohol consumed per capita in

1184-602: Is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence , residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors of relapse . Drinking more than 1–2 drinks a day increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure , atrial fibrillation , and stroke . The risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking , which may result in violence or accidents. About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are due to alcohol each year. Unlike wine and perhaps beer, there

1258-462: Is no evidence for a J-shaped health effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol. Long-term use can lead to an alcohol use disorder , an increased risk of developing physical dependence . cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer . Alcoholism , also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems. Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten years and alcohol use

1332-483: Is the third-leading cause of early death in the United States. Consumption of alcohol in any quantity can cause cancer . Alcohol causes breast cancer , colorectal cancer , esophageal cancer , liver cancer , and head-and-neck cancers . The more alcohol is consumed, the higher the cancer risk. A survey of high school students in Alstahaug, Nordland county, revealed that adolescents consume alcohol at rates above

1406-411: Is typically consumed for the psychoactive effects of alcohol. Liquor may be consumed on its own (i.e. " neat "), typically in amounts of around 50 millilitres (1.7 US fluid ounces) per served drink; or frequently mixed with other ingredients to form a cocktail . In an undiluted form, distilled beverages are often slightly sweet and bitter and typically impart a burning mouthfeel with an odor derived from

1480-594: The quintessence of wine). In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties. A still has been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei , dating to the 12th century. In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by

1554-648: The Grammophon-Philips Group ( GPG ) as a joint-venture holding company, with Philips taking a 50% share in DGG and Siemens a 50% share in PPI. In 1971, the UK record labels of Philips, Fontana, Mercury, and Vertigo were amalgamated into a new company called Phonogram, Ltd. In 1972, Grammophon-Philips Group reorganized all its operations and was renamed The PolyGram Group (in some countries, like Argentina, its name

SECTION 20

#1732776783248

1628-574: The ITC Entertainment library, which was sold on January 19, 1999 to Carlton Communications for £91 million. On April 8, 1999, USA Networks announced they would purchase PolyGram Filmed Entertainment's domestic division (including PolyGram Video's US & Canada operation), among other assets. After the sale, the divisions were renamed USA Films and USA Home Entertainment respectively. The assets of Slash Records and London Records were sold to Warner Music Group . What remained of PolyGram

1702-590: The Jin (12th–13th centuries) and Southern Song (10th–13th centuries) dynasties according to archaeological evidence. Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice. The freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use. The flammable nature of the exhalations of wine was already known to ancient natural philosophers such as Aristotle (384–322 BCE), Theophrastus ( c.  371  – c.  287 BCE ), and Pliny

1776-650: The disco craze included the Casablanca FilmWorks production Thank God It's Friday (1978) and its associated soundtrack. During the boom in disco, PolyGram's US market share had grown from 5% to 20%. This can also be attributed to multi-million selling albums and 45s by the Bee Gees , Donna Summer , the Village People , Andy Gibb , Kool & the Gang , and rock band Kiss . For a short while in

1850-574: The 14th century. The works of Taddeo Alderotti (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated fractional distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained. In 1437, "burned water" ( brandy ) was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany. It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealand and

1924-567: The 1st century. Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias . Alchemists in Roman Egypt were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century. Distillation was known in the ancient Indian subcontinent , evident from baked clay retorts and receivers found at Taxila and Charsadda in Pakistan and Rang Mahal in India dating to

1998-464: The Elder (23/24–79 CE). This did not immediately lead to the isolation of alcohol, however, despite the development of more advanced distillation techniques in second- and third-century Roman Egypt . An important recognition, first found in one of the writings attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (ninth century CE), was that by adding salt to boiling wine, which increases the wine's relative volatility ,

2072-759: The Gin category but any gin cannot be considered as London gin). Spirit drinks that are not produced within the EU, such as tequila or baijiu , are not listed in the 44 categories. Early evidence of distillation comes from Akkadian tablets dated c.  1200 BC describing perfumery operations, providing textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia . Early evidence of distillation also comes from alchemists working in Alexandria , Roman Egypt , in

2146-573: The KNSM, assigned to the allied invasion fleet for Sicily and sailing in convoy KWS 16, loaded from Alexandria with tanks, trucks, ammunition and petrol (in cans) and 4 LCMs, under captain LH Mager, 11 July 1943, anchored off the coast of Sicily, on the roadstead of Avola, attacked by 12 German bombers. The 'Baarn' is hit and catches fire. All those on board manage to save themselves and are on the landing beach within an hour. The 'Baarn' will later be sunk as

2220-517: The Netherlands. In many others including the United States , it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license, and the licensing process is too arduous for hobbyist-scale production. In some parts of the U.S., it is also illegal to sell a still without a license. Nonetheless, all states allow unlicensed individuals to make their own beer , and some also allow unlicensed individuals to make their own wine (although making beer and wine

2294-473: The US and UK markets, and did so by a process of both formation and acquisition: Polydor Records established its American operations, Polydor Incorporated in 1969, Mercury Record Productions (US) was acquired in 1972 from sister company North American Philips Corp. , and became Phonogram, Inc. MGM Records and Verve (US) were acquired in 1972. Subsequent PolyGram acquisitions included those of RSO (UK) in 1975,

PolyGram - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-609: The United States. But in 1951, after Columbia had failed to renew its international distribution agreement with EMI , PPI agreed to distribute Columbia recordings outside the United States. Columbia became PPI's distributor within the US. This agreement ran until 1961 when Columbia set up its own European network. PPI signed a worldwide distribution deal with Mercury Records in 1961. PPI's parent company Philips, through its U.S. affiliate Consolidated Electronics Industries Corp (a.k.a. Conelco ), acquired Mercury in 1962. PPI built or bought factories in smaller countries. In 1962, PPI had

2442-655: The Universal label to form Universal J, Kitty Records and Mercury remained until 2000, when they merged and became the short-lived Kitty MME, which later in 2002, moved some artists to Universal J, and in 2004, Kitty MME became Universal Sigma. Distilled beverage Liquor ( / ˈ l ɪ k ər / LIK -ər ) or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains , fruits , vegetables , or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation . Other terms for liquor include spirit , spirituous liquor or hard liquor . While

2516-476: The additional term "drink") refers to liquor that should not contain added sugar and is usually 35–40% alcohol by volume (ABV). Fruit brandy , for example, is also known as 'fruit spirit'. Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such as Grand Marnier , amaretto , and American schnapps , are known instead as liqueurs . Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30% when bottled, and before being diluted for bottling, it typically has

2590-701: The alcohol and the production and aging processes; the exact flavor varies between different varieties of liquor and the different impurities they impart. Rapid consumption of a large amount of liquor can cause severe alcohol intoxication or alcohol poisoning , which can be fatal either due to acute biochemical damage to vital organs (e.g. alcoholic hepatitis and pancreatitis ), or due to trauma (e.g. falls or motor vehicle accidents ) caused by alcohol-induced delirium . Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages. The term "spirit" (singular and used without

2664-608: The big budget musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (1978). The film starred the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton at the height of their popularity, and featured the Beatles covers by them as well as Aerosmith , Billy Preston , and Earth, Wind & Fire . The film was highly anticipated to surpass the box office success of both the Saturday Night Fever and Grease , mostly due to its popular music stars. The soundtrack LP, based on only advance orders,

2738-470: The company's dependence on superstars by spreading the repertoire across different genres and nurturing national and regional talent. Also by 1983, PolyGram's U.S. roster of labels included: ...which were all consolidated into PolyGram Records, Inc. (now UMG Recordings, Inc.) In 1981, PolyGram launched domestic television syndication unit PolyGram Television (unrelated to the latter day incarnation that became Universal Worldwide Television in 1997), but it

2812-568: The company. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PolyGram continued to invest in a diversified film unit with the purchases of individual production companies. In 1981, Philips executive Jan Timmer became a member of the Group Management of PolyGram and was appointed president and chief executive officer of newly formed parent company, PolyGram International Ltd. in 1983. He cut the workforce from 13,000 to 7,000, reduced PolyGram's LP and cassette plants from eighteen to five, and decreased

2886-680: The deal were a lack of pop hits from the music side of the company, and an equal lack of box-office successes from the film side. Alain Levy resigned as CEO of PolyGram on June 23 to prepare for the merger, and the deal was closed on December 10, 1998, with PolyGram's operations folding into Universal Pictures and Universal Music Group . Seagram however, was only interested in PolyGram's music division, and in October 1998 they announced that they would begin divesting PolyGram's entertainment assets, while

2960-576: The disco craze ended in 1979 and record sales for both the Bee Gees and Casablanca's Village People plummeted. PolyGram also experienced losses with the defection of Casablanca's Donna Summer to newly formed Geffen Records as well as the dropping of Andy Gibb , whose personal problems with cocaine and alcohol began to affect his recording career, from RSO. Summer and the Bee Gees also had legal disputes with their labels which further complicated matters. Summer ended her contract with PolyGram in 1980, and

3034-438: The distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retain the aroma and taste of the raw materials used. Annex 1 to the regulation lists 44 categories of spirit drinks and their legal requirements. Some spirit drinks can fall into more than one category. Specific production requirements distinguish one category from another (London gin falls into

PolyGram - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-589: The early centuries of the Common Era . Frank Raymond Allchin says these terracotta distill tubes were "made to imitate bamboo". These " Gandhara stills" were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat. Distillation in China could have begun during the Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd centuries), but the distillation of beverages began in

3182-529: The flammability of the resulting vapors may be enhanced. The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (c. 801–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (c. 872–950), and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī 's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf (later translated into Latin as Liber servatoris ). In the twelfth century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e., alcohol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in

3256-769: The largest record company in Europe. PPI's second attempt at a merger was with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (DGG). DGG, owned by Siemens AG , and well known for its classical repertoire, had been the German licensee for Decca from 1935. DGG also owned Polydor Records . Shortly after PPI was founded it had made a formal alliance with DGG to manufacture each other's records, coordinate releases, and refrain from poaching each other's artists or bidding against each other for new talent. PPI and DGG finally merged in 1962. The alliance with DGG still left PPI without repertoire in Britain or

3330-403: The late 1940s, Philips combined its various music businesses into Philips Phonografische Industrie ( PPI ), a wholly owned subsidiary. PPI's early growth was based on alliances. A merger was first proposed with Decca of London in late 1945, but was rejected by Edward Lewis , Decca's owner. (PolyGram finally acquired Decca in 1980.) In the early 1950s, Philips set itself the goal of making PPI

3404-538: The late 1950s and early 1960s, Philips had been at work on a new consumer magnetic tape format for music. The Philips Compact Cassette was introduced in 1963. It was small and could play longer than an LP. In 1965 the cassette accounted for 3% of revenues, growing in 1968 to 8% and in 1970 to 10.6%. In the late 1960s, and through the 1970s, GPG/PolyGram diversified into film and television production and home video. RSO's successes included Saturday Night Fever and Grease . PolyGram's highly successful marketing during

3478-418: The late 1970s, it was the world's largest record company. In 1969, PolyGram established a direct mail-order business in the UK, Britannia Music Club , which ran till 2007. Before 1978, PolyGram was losing money. When US operations were running at full capacity, PolyGram expanded aggressively, and would press large quantities of records without knowing the demand. In late 1979, PolyGram was caught off guard by

3552-718: The main town of the municipality, received city rights in 1391. The town lies about 8 km east of Hilversum . In 2001, the town of Baarn had a population of 22,871. The urban area of the town was 4.66 km (1.80 sq mi), and consisted of 10,076 residences. The royal family owns several houses around Baarn. The Soestdijk Palace in Baarn was the home of Queen Emma , Queen Juliana and Juliana's husband prince Bernard . Crown prince Willem Alexander and his brothers attended school ( Nieuwe Baarnse School and Het Baarnsch Lyceum ) in Baarn when Queen Beatrix (then princess) and her family lived at Castle Drakesteijn in

3626-503: The mid-1980s to 7-9% by the early 1990s. As well, videos were distributed by PolyGram Video . In 1988, Philips acquired the remaining 50% of PolyGram from long-time partner Siemens and later in 1989, floated 16% of PolyGram on the Amsterdam stock exchange, valuing the whole company at $ 5.6 billion. PolyGram embarked on a new program of acquisitions, including A&M and Island Records in 1989, Swedish company Polar Music which held

3700-422: The national average, with home-made liquor being prevalent and easily accessible, highlighting an urgent need for preventive measures. Baarn Baarn ( Dutch pronunciation: [baːr(ə)n] ) is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht . The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge , Lage Vuursche . Baarn,

3774-624: The newly formed entertainment division of Seagram faced financial difficulties, it was sold to Vivendi , and MCA became known as Universal Studios, as Seagram ceased to exist. Vivendi remains the majority owner of the Universal Music Group (while the film and television division was sold to NBCUniversal ) until 2021. In February 2017, UMG revived the company under the name of PolyGram Entertainment , which currently serves as their film and television division. In 1929, Decca Records (London) licensed record shop owner H.W. Van Zoelen as

SECTION 50

#1732776783248

3848-486: The remainder would be folded into Universal. Prior to this announcement, the company announced the sale of their 75% stake in children's distributor Abbey Home Entertainment back to its original founders and the acquisition of Astrion plc. On October 23, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to purchase PolyGram Filmed Entertainment 's pre-April 1996 library for $ 250 million, which included over 1,300 films from various assets PolyGram had acquired within that point, but did not include

3922-571: The remains of PolyGram's theatrical assets would then be folded into United International Pictures. Mickey Blue Eyes would become the last film distributed under the ex-PolyGram unit. The PolyGram name now survives via reissue of music under the Polydor Records label as well as a publishing arm of Universal Music Publishing Group . The Japanese branches of the PolyGram labels that were absorbed to form Universal Music Japan and were rebranded: Polydor remained until 2002, when it merged with

3996-527: The rights to the ABBA catalogue, Motown and Def Jam in 1994 and Rodven (Venezuela) in 1995. In 1990, after acquiring both Island and A&M, Alain Levy , (then) executive vice-president of PolyGram N.V., re-organized the U.S. operations of PolyGram Records, Inc. into a new expanded conglomerate: PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc. In addition to overseeing the sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution of music and video products created by PolyGram, PGD

4070-420: The sudden end of the popularity of disco music, leaving it with an underutilized distribution network, profligate labels, and over optimistic product orders. PolyGram's Casablanca label was known for management spending on lavish industry parties and luxury cars. After 1980, PolyGram's losses had spiraled upwards of US$ 220 million. Another contributing factor to PolyGram's financial woes was the massive failure of

4144-522: The term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the United Kingdom . Some examples of liquors include vodka , rum , gin and tequila . Liquors are often aged in barrels , such as for the production of brandy and whiskey , or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors , such as absinthe . Like other alcoholic drinks, liquor

4218-428: The time he took over, Philips was seen as a bloated company, laden with too many layers of management and unrelated companies that they could not leverage effectively. As a result, Boonstra began to sell or dispose of various non-core assets. While Philips began to withdraw from other media activities, Boonstra denied that PolyGram was for sale. However, by early 1998, he had changed his attitude, instead deciding to pursue

4292-560: The town is home to a number of boutique international firms such as SEI Investments Company , Bain & Co and Cerberus Capital Management . Unilever's Conimex and software company Seyoda Games are located in Baarn. Baarn has a railway station - Baarn railway station , with trains going every half-hour to Utrecht ( Utrecht Centraal , 35 minutes), Amersfoort ( Amersfoort Centraal , 10 minutes) and Amsterdam ( Amsterdam Centraal , about 40 minutes). The A1 motorway runs just north of Baarn. Freighter SS ' Baarn' (1927) of

4366-550: The village of Lage Vuursche, before they moved to The Hague in 1980. A piece of forest, the Baarnse Bos , is adjacent to the palace and historically belonged to it. Baarn's shopping facilities are mainly located in the Laanstraat. Other visitor destinations include 'het Cantonspark ' (a botanical garden ) and Groeneveld Castle . In the north and east there are polders , and the river Eem . Recreation resources include

4440-760: The war, Philips built a large factory in Doetinchem to produce 78 rpm records. Recording took place in Hilversum, whereas development took place in Eindhoven. In the 1940s, the record business was spread out within Philips: research in the Eindhoven labs, development elsewhere in Eindhoven, recording in Hilversum , manufacturing in Doetinchem , distribution from Amsterdam , and exports from Eindhoven. During

4514-708: The war. This led Philips to purchase HDD in 1942. In the mid 20th century, the majority of large recording companies manufactured both gramophones and records; Philips CEO Anton Philips noted the risk in creating gramophones without an interest in music recording and record manufacture, and that Radio Corporation of America (RCA) had merged with the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929 for this reason. Philips' labs were developing magnetic tape and LPs , and they could support eventual new formats, although other record companies were notably unenthusiastic about experimenting with new formats. After

SECTION 60

#1732776783248

4588-513: The woodlands south-west of Baarn, connecting Baarn to Soestdijk, and called 'Het Baarnsche Bos'. The Scout Centre Buitenzorg ( Scouting Nederland ) is located in Baarn. To the south lay the connecting road towards the city of Amersfoort , called 'Breemeentje'. This, approx. 10 km long straight of polder road, connects the town of Baarn to various roads in Soest and the industrial area of Amersfoort. Due to good communications with Amsterdam,

4662-498: The word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids). The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume . As liquors contain significantly more alcohol ( ethanol ) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder". In North America ,

4736-632: The word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to 1225. The first use documented in the OED defined as "a liquid for drinking" occurred in the 14th century. Its use as a term for "an intoxicating alcoholic drink" appeared in the 16th century. In accordance with the regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 17, 2019, a spirit drink

4810-401: Was Phonogram), of which Philips and Siemens each owned 50%. In 1977, both organizations merged operationally, integrating the recording, manufacturing, distribution and marketing into a single organization. The various record labels within PolyGram continued to operate separately. PolyGram gave its labels, as A&R organizations, great autonomy. After the merger, PolyGram began to move into

4884-535: Was also responsible for supervising a number of other divisions within PolyGram (U.S.) such as: PolyGram Music Group, PolyGram Video, PolyMedia, PolyGram Special Markets, PolyGram Merchandising, Independent Label Sales (ILS) and New Media & Business Development. PolyGram and Granada TV formed a joint venture, Big Picture Productions, in 1990 as a music programing firm which, at Cannes in 1990, purchased exclusive international distribution rights to Brown Sugar (The two-hour special featured black female performers and

4958-448: Was awarded the rights to her songwriting catalog by the courts; she owed them one more album, and finished out her contract by recording her album She Works Hard For The Money (from which the title track was a huge hit in 1983). In 1980, after PolyGram bought the other 50% of Casablanca Records and Filmworks, PolyGram renamed its existing Casablanca Records & Filmworks unit as PolyGram Pictures with Peter Guber becoming chairman of

5032-475: Was folded into both Universal Music Group and Universal Pictures. On February 10, 1999, Universal announced that they would pull out of their CIC Video and United International Pictures ventures with Paramount Pictures and rebrand PolyGram Filmed Entertainment's international division (including PolyGram Video's international operation) under the Universal name. Whilst the home video division rebranding

5106-569: Was hosted by Billy Dee Williams ) from the New York–based Gene David Group. In June 1991, Alain Levy was promoted to worldwide president and CEO of PolyGram N.V. In 1993, PolyGram purchased the video arm of Virgin Group from General Electric Capital for $ 5.6 million and remodeled the label as Vision Video ltd. In 1995, PolyGram purchased ITC Entertainment for $ 156 million. In 1996, Cor Boonstra became CEO of Philips; by

5180-640: Was named president and CEO of PolyGram. Asher was formerly the attorney for Don Kirshner 's Aldon Music music publishing company. The CD, invented by Philips and Sony , helped greatly in boosting the company's sales and market share. PolyGram's strength in classical music helped greatly, as many of the CD's early adopters were classical music lovers. Total US sales of CDs were $ 1 million in 1983, $ 334 million in 1990 and $ 943 million in 2000. Total UK sales were $ 300,000 in 1983, $ 51 million in 1990 and $ 202 million in 2000. The CD increased PolyGram's profit margin from 4-6% in

5254-528: Was not interested in keeping the record company. The assets of the former 20th Century Fox Records were fully acquired by the firm in July 1982, and subsequently were consolidated with the Casablanca label. After an attempted 1983 merger with Warner Elektra Atlantic failed, Philips bought 40% of PolyGram from Siemens, acquiring the remaining 10% in 1987. In 1985, former CBS and Columbia executive Dick Asher

5328-489: Was released triple platinum. The movie was released to poor reviews and died at the box office. Despite its triple platinum start, the soundtrack LP's sales bombed after the film's release. In turn, record dealers flooded PolyGram with returned LPs. The resulting losses nearly wiped out the profits the company had made on both the Saturday Night Fever and Grease soundtracks. The company took further loses when

5402-445: Was soon folded after two years. Under its newly reorganized form, PolyGram decided to discontinue Philips as a pop and rock label in the UK and much of Europe, though it was still frequently issued records in France and South East Asia, where it issued many albums and singles by Chinese and Hong Kong pop artists. The majority of PolyGram's rock and pop music signings went to Mercury and Polydor. Philips became part of PolyGram Classics as

5476-476: Was successful (with CIC rebranding under the Paramount umbrella toward the end of 1999), the theatrical division rebranding would prove to be a failure, as films from the rebranded Universal Pictures International flopped at the box office, the company therefore announced in October 1999 that their operations would be downgraded to the home video market only and renewed their UIP deal with Paramount for five years,

#247752