Label Guide: RSO

RSO Records was a British record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973. The name stands for 'Robert Stigwood Organisation'. The London-based label underwent four distribution stages: by Atlantic Records from March 1973 to December 1975, by Polydor Records from January 1976 to December 1977, as an independent label from January 1978 to around October 1981, and finally by PolyGram Records from around November 1981 until the label's end in 1983.

RSO managed the careers of several superstars (Bee Gees, Yvonne Elliman, Eric Clapton, Andy Gibb), and, as a record label, released the soundtracks to Fame, Sparkle, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Times Square, Grease (over 25 million copies sold worldwide), and Saturday Night Fever (over 30 million copies sold worldwide). The release of the latter two albums made RSO one of the most financially successful labels of the 1970s.

By 1981, Stigwood had ended his involvement with the label, which was absorbed into PolyGram a few years later. All previous RSO releases were later re-released on Polydor.