hmv

HMV is a multi-use abbreviation most commonly associated with a British entertainment retailer. The company name originated from the phrase His Master’s Voice, a trademark used for phonograph records and associated imagery of a dog named Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone. The image became widely associated with early 20th-century recorded-music brands and with the British retailer that adopted the initials HMV for its stores.

HMV (His Master’s Voice) retail chain was established in the United Kingdom in the 1920s as a storefront for phonographs and records and expanded to sell music, film, and later video games and related merchandise. The stores became a recognizable presence on high streets across the UK and internationally, operating both physical shops and an online storefront (hmv.com).

In 2013 the HMV Group plc entered administration after years of declining physical-media sales, with parts of the business restructured. The UK and Ireland operation was eventually acquired and rebranded under new ownership; in 2019 Sunrise Records, a Canadian retailer led by Doug Putman, acquired HMV’s UK and Ireland business, continuing to operate stores under the HMV name.

Outside retail, HMV is sometimes used as an abbreviation for the His Master’s Voice trademark associated with the Nipper dog, as well as brands in other media contexts.

The name HMV remains widely recognized in the UK and other markets as a retailer of music, film, games, and related products, and the brand continues to operate online and through physical stores in multiple countries.