Sono Cairo

صوت القاهرة [Ṣawt al-Qāhira (self-identified in Latin characters as Sono Cairo)] (1962 - 1977) was an Egyptian state-owned record company. The company started in 1962 as a state audio recording and publishing project (not yet an independent company) under the auspices of the Egyptian General Organization for Cinema, Radio and Television. It was officially founded as an independent company on January 6, 1964 (Presidential Decree 180/1964). The company produced both musical and non-musical recordings (for example Quran & radio dramas). As a state owned company it has access to recordings made by Egyptian Radio. Sono Cairo also took over the catalogues of other nationalised record companies, most notably Misrphon, and it was the all-dominant record company in Egypt until the late 1970s. In 1977 the company was transformed into an Egyptian joint stock company (Ministerial Decree 139/1977) under the Egyptian Radio and Television Union. The name was changed to صوت القاهرة للصوتيات والمرئيات [Ṣawt al-Qāhira li-l-ṣawtiyyāt wa-l-marʿiyyāt (self-identified in Latin characters as Sono Cairo Audio & Video Co.)]. In the 1960s SonoCairo had two record pressing plants (which also pressed records for other companies). 1. In Cairo: the old Misrphon Factory (مصنع الشرق للاسطوانات - مصرفون) which was nationalised in 1962 2. In Alexandria: opened in 1963 These are usually credited as صنعت في مصانع صوت القاهرة (i.e. manufactured in the factories of Sawt al-Qahira). The label also pressed vinyl locally abroad for in-country markets in France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. It also pressed vinyl in Greece for exports to other countries in the Middle East. French pressings were distributed by Sonodisc in France, by Platenhuis Pastor in the Netherlands and Germany. Some counterfeit releases were pressed in Israel: for those unofficial releases, use Sono Cairo (2).