Universal Recordings

Universal Recordings  —  A New Zealand Recording Company out of the early 60s

One of the smallest Kiwi record labels in the early 1960s must have been UNIVERSAL.  The company's first release featured two instrumentals by Ashburton group Peter Collins and his Deaconaires who recorded their original compositions Diamond Lil // Fire Devil for release as Universal S500 in 1960.  The group also provided backing for country singer Garner Wayne's disc debut   I Love The Land // The Blue Velvet Band on Universal S502 in 1960 - the disc was later released on Viking VS100 in 1962.

Subsequently, Universal Music has had an incredibly rich history in New Zealand.  Originally established as MCA New Zealand in 1996, the label became Universal Music New Zealand in 1998.  Universal's acquisition of PolyGram in 1999 and EMI Records in 2013 saw the greatest collection of New Zealand music and artists come together under one record label.  PolyGram, a Philips-owned company, had operated in New Zealand under various names since the mid-1940s and their purchase of Pye Records in the 60’s brought great New Zealand labels like TANZA, Family, Prestige and Allied International into the company.  EMI Records were once known as HMV which was established in Wellington in 1926 and bec ame by far the largest and most active record label in New Zealand from the mid-1940s to the early seventies.  Their catalogue of New Zealand artists and recordings was immense.  The Universal Music New Zealand team are incredibly proud of the company's history and knows it is the guardian of a vitally important piece of New Zealand culture.  It is critical to the company that this incredible collection of New Zealand's greatest music is preserved so that it can be heard by today's generations and for generations to come.  To make sure that happens, shortly after the acquisition of EMI Records, Universal Music New Zealand embarked on an ambitious and expansive reissue programme.  The idea being simple – to digitally reissue as much of the New Zealand catalogue the company owned, remastering where possible from the original master tapes.  If the tapes were missing then high quality transfers were made from vinyl sources.  Today with support from the artists themselves, hundreds of albums and thousands of tracks have now been made available of all the major digital platforms around the world including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and YouTube Music.