Tarantura is a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

but for legal reasons they say they are from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

which releases

bootleg recordings A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...

. Since 1993 it has been specialising in

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and

Page and Plant Page and Plant (also known as Jimmy Page & Robert Plant) were an English rock band active between 1994 and 1998. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant (both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin), accompanie ...

releases. Tarantura is known for its release of high quality recordings and elaborate packaging which, according to Led Zeppelin archivists Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett, often employs a "finesse and style unmatched even by official standards."Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. , p. 111. For example, in 1994 the label released ''Monsters of Rock'', an elaborate 3-CD set containing the

soundboard recording A soundboard recording is a sound recording of a concert taken from a direct connection to the soundboard at the venue. Soundboard recordings are considered to be among the highest quality bootleg recordings of live performances though some sound ...

s from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

from Led Zeppelin's 1973 concert tour of the United States. This release contained concertina-style fold-out packaging, with each disc in individual heavy stock and card sleeves. The front of the pack was designed in the style of a 1950s

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

poster of a giant spider, "Tarantura!" Initial copies even included a

jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is comple ...

of the cover art. However, the main criticism levelled at Tarantura is that the prices charged are outside the reach of many collectors. Each title is extremely limited (usually only 300-500 sets), sometimes individually numbered, and sold through one outlet in Japan with no mail order. They are therefore difficult to obtain overseas and command extremely high prices when they do appear for sale. By way of example, the estimated value of ''Monsters of Rock'' currently stands at over £400. The Tarantura label can claim responsibility for some notable Led Zeppelin releases, including the 19-CD box set ''A Week For Badgeholders'' which captures the six shows performed by the band at the

Los Angeles Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to th ...

during its 1977 concert tour of the United States. It has also released sets from the band's two performances at Knebworth in 1979, their entire 1972 Japanese tour, and every show from their 1980 tour of Europe.

References

{{Authority control Japanese independent record labels Rock record labels

See also

References