The Martin band recorded first for Columbia Records in 1932. As the company was broke and signing no new contracts, the band switched to Brunswick Records after one session and remained with that label till 1938. During his tenure at Brunswick/ARC, half of his recordings were issued on ARC's stable of budget priced labels (Banner, Conqueror, Melotone, Oriole, Perfect, Romeo, and Vocalion) as well as scores of non-vocal takes issued on ARC's special theater use label, sold only to movie theaters as background music. In 1938, he signed with RCA Victor and was assigned to Bluebird. The band also recorded pseudonymously in the early 1930s, backing singers such as Will Osborne. From 1932 to 1938, the band's primary vocalists were saxophonist Elmer Feldkamp and pianist Terry Shand. The former primarily sang romantic ballads, while the latter was used mostly for 'hot' dance tunes.