This label was reserved for Victor releases by concert and operatic performers of the highest caliber, and first appeared in March, 1903. Red Seal records were single-sided until 1923, when the first double-sided releases were announced. The Victor Talking Machine Co. trademarked both the term "Red Seal" and the red label color scheme and defended them aggressively, and quickly sued any competitor that used red labels. They successfully protected their use of red labels until they were finally defeated in the courts in 1943.

The earliest Red Seal records consisted entirely of domestic pressings of European masters recorded by the Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd., and were released on Victor Monarch Record (10") and Victor De Luxe Record (12") labels. Domestic recordings began in April, 1903 and Enrico Caruso signed an exclusive Victor contract later that year. This greatly elevated the label's prestige, and by 1905 most Red Seal releases were pressed from American masters.