Zenith Records

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Zenith Records
Founded2005; 20 years ago (2005)
HeadquartersBrunswick East 3057, Victoria, Australia
ProductsVinyl record mastering, vinyl record pressing
ServicesSmall and large production of vinyl records
OwnerPaul Rigby (co-owner)
Websitezenithrecords.org

Zenith Records is a vinyl record pressing plant based in Melbourne, Australia, established in 2005.[1]

History

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Zenith Records was founded by Australian hip-hop artist Pegz, owner of Obese Records, who purchased and fixed the pressing machinery so that it was on par with international pressing plants.[2][3]

The early machinery at Zenith had originated at Nick Phillips' Corduroy Records pressing plant which was sold to Zenith Records in 2005. Their record presses and infrastructure had all been operative in Australia in various independent record pressing plants like Modern and Sundown, the cutting lathe having run at EMI in Sydney. These presses have been progressively upgraded and refurbished.[1] Originally located in Richmond, the plant relocated to Brunswick East in 2013.[4][5]

In 2018, working with outside CNC machining / engineering firms, Zenith Records began development of its own in-house engineered products. A prototype mould or die (for record pressing) was developed in 2019, with ongoing modification and improvement. This eventually led to acquisition of CNC machining equipment. With a lease on the factory next door, they now had a modern CNC machine shop, with two engineering machinists. As a result, Zenith's engineering department produces and exports engineered solutions, moulds, and other spare parts and consumables to the vinyl record pressing industry.[citation needed]

In 2020, Zenith added two dedicated gluing lines for inner paper sleeve making and jacket gluing. With print finishing in-house, this eliminated supply chain delays, and improved the quality control of their finished sleeves, pockets, and gatefold jackets.[citation needed]

In 2025, Zenith had four Pheenix Alpha AD12 automatic record presses installed, which, according to Zenith, "tripled production capacity to approximately 6,000 records per week."[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Gaunt, James (July 2021). "Zenith Records, Australia's record presses, & how to press a record". The Shadow Knows. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via Medium.com.
  2. ^ Obese Records (2006). "Fatter Than Ya Mamma". Melbourne Pixel Magazine (Interview). No. 1. Interviewed by Walter, John. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. ^ Colman, Tim (9 December 2005). "Milkbar Stars". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Zenith Records 2005 website". 2005. Archived from the original on 24 October 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Zenith Records | Vinyl Record Pressing facility, Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia". Zenith Records. 3 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  6. ^ Jenke, Tyler (21 July 2025). "Melbourne's Zenith Records Pressing Plants Triples Their Output With New Upgrades". The Music. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
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