His Master's Voice (NZ) Limited

Please note: These releases should be submitted under their correct labels as well as His Master's Voice (NZ) Ltd. Also use for His Master's Voice (N.Z.) Ltd. His Master's Voice (NZ) Limited was a subsidiary company of the The Gramophone Co. Ltd. established 10 May 1926 by EJ. Hyams (as MD and majority shareholder), The Gramophone Co. Ltd. (as secondary shareholder) and accountant A.J. Wyness (as a minor shareholder). In 1931 The Gramophone Co. Ltd. and Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd. merged to form Electric & Musical Industries Ltd. which became the ultimate parent. His Master's Voice (NZ) Limited and subsidiaries operated in various markets - products and services included: Records, domestic appliances, radio & television, magnetic tape, music publishing and electronic equipment. The company did not press records until March 1949, when it opened a plant in Kilbirnie in Wellington. Before that, it sold Australian and UK pressings. That plant pressed only 78s. In 1954, it closed the Kilbernie operation and opened a plant in Hutt Road, Lower Hutt. The first LPs, both 10" and 12" records, were done in late 1955, and the first 7" vinyl pressings were in 1956. HMV was, until the 1970s, the biggest manufacturer and distributor of records in New Zealand. In addition to its own labels, His Master's Voice, Parlophone, Columbia, Regal Zonophone, Capitol Records (from 1956) and others, it manufactured and distributed many others at various times including UK Decca (from 1935), MGM, Atlantic and Elektra (both from 1970), Disneyland and Warner Brothers (from 1962). The company as of May 1970 also owned a substantial holding in "Cunningham-E.M.I. Group Ltd., which was involved in the manufacture and sale of domestic electrical appliances in New Zealand. Shareholdings: 10 May 1926: The Gramophone Co. Ltd. 25%, EJ Hyams 66%, AJ Wyness 9% 31 Jan 1930: The Gramophone Co. Ltd. 75%, Hyams 22.5%, Wyness 2.5% 9 Aug 1934: The Gramophone Co. Ltd. 97.5%, Wyness 2.5% 22 Jan 1969: E.M.I. Overseas Holdings Ltd. 100% In May 1972 His Master's Voice (NZ) Limited was renamed EMI (NZ) Ltd. Subsequently, "His Master's Voice (NZ) Ltd. " was re-incorporated at a later date until it was dissolved on the 30th June 1992. Please see His Master's Voice (NZ) Limited (2).