for the city in the Philippines see Tanza, Cavite

Tanza, Cavite

Municipality of Tanza is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines...

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TANZA was a pioneering New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 record label, from 1949 to 1956. TANZA stands for To Assist New Zealand Artists, and was the first company to record and produce records in New Zealand. The majority were 78 rpm records, with some 45 rpm records and LPs produced from 1952.

The label was started by the Radio Corporation of New Zealand (RCNZ), which manufactured Columbus and Courtenay radios and radiograms, sold through their Radio Centre or Columbus Radio Centre retail outlets. Rival HMV (His Masters Voice) owned the agencies for all imported records, and restricted them to their own outlets. The Managing Director of RCNZ Mr W. M. Marks suggested that records from a new local label could be sold through RCNZ with their radiograms.

He approached their radio factory manager, Fred Green, who became TANZA factory manager. Green approached Stan Dallas, then at radio station 2ZB, who became the Studio Manager and Engineer. Others were Tony Hall (Record Pressing Manager), John Shears (Copyrights & Marketing), Jack Christie (Copyrights), Terry Petersen (Assistant to Stan Dallas), Tony Small (Studio Assistant) and Bart Fortune of the RCNZ Board who suggested the name TANZA. The TANZA recording studio and factory was in Wellington, at 80 Courtenay Place then 262 Wakefield Street. There was one large and two small recording studios, and old record presses ex-Australia.

The first record was Blue Smoke, recorded by Pixie Williams and the Ruru Karaitiana Quintette. The song was recorded 3 October 1948, processed 23 February 1949, and sold over 50,000 copies. Other artists recorded were The Tumbleweeds and jazz vocalist Mavis Rivers. About 300 78s were pressed (excluding private recordings), plus 31 45s (26 & 5 EP) and 4 LPs (3 10” & 1 12”). The parent company RCNZ was bought by PYE Industries of Auckland about 1958.

External links

• Paekakariki in the land of the Tiki poster for 1948 song recorded by TANZA, with photo of singer/composer Ken Avery from Te Ara