Until May 1956 US Columbia and CBS releases were distributed in Australia by EMI. In March 1956 EMI won the worldwide rights to distribute the American Capitol label from its previous distributor, the Australian Record Company (ARC), and ARC responded in kind by acquiring the rights to the US Columbia and CBS (both previously distributed by EMI) in May 1956.

However EMI had owned the "Columbia" trademark outside North America and Japan, so ARC created a new imprint for its Columbia/CBS product -- the Coronet label, which quickly became ARC's flagship imprint. It was immediately recognizable by its famous octagonal label, which was the only octagonal record label in the history of the industry worldwide. Although the label later also carried the CBS initials, Coronet was considered to be a bona-fide indigenous label until its demise in January 1963.

In New Zealand Philips Electrical Industries also used the Coronet imprint to release CBS records until it launched the CBS label in 1962.