It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie[2] who continued to edit the magazine until 1961.

[5] The magazine presents the Gramophone Awards each year to the classical recordings which it considers the finest in a variety of categories.

This used to appear on the front cover of every issue; recent editions have changed the wording to "The world's best classical music reviews."

In April 2012, Gramophone launched its Hall of Fame, an annual listing of the men and women (artists, producers, engineers, A&R directors and label founders) who have contributed to the classical records industry.

The first 50 were revealed in the May 2012 issue and on Gramophone’s website, and each year will see another intake into the Hall of Fame.