The first wave of independent record labels were primed to take advantage of the recording phenomenon after Gennett Records successfully sued the Victor corporation in 1921 which along with Columbia had been fiercely guarding the technology through patent laws, but the ensuing court victory removed Victor’s rights to exclusivity over the method of making lateral cut 78 RPM records. some labels thrived with recordings by jazz greats but the majors were still reluctant to put black artists on record, creating a schism between the majors and independent labels for the next fifty years. enter the race record , sound recordings of the early 20th century that were made exclusively by and for African Americans. The term is sometimes said to have been coined by Ralph S. Peer, who was then working for OKeh Records.