MMF Aotearoa is thrilled to announce the two successful applicants who will take part in Co-Pilot Program 2022: Spotify Australia and Aotearoa Edition. Congratulations to Diaz Grimm and Gina Linnell who will join 10 Australian emerging and developing managers in this tailored professional development programme. This initiative from AAM (Assoc. of Artist Managers Australia) together with Spotify, enables Diaz and Gina to take part in a workshop in Sydney followed by a four-month virtual mentorship.
DIAZ GRIMM
In 2015, Diaz released his debut album 'Osiris', a soundtrack to the end of the world. A post-apocalyptic sonic journey that resonated with audiences and critics alike, the success of Osiris saw Diaz nominated for Best Urban/Hip-Hop Album at the New Zealand Music Awards that year.
The album topped the NZ iTunes hip hop charts, reached the official NZ Top 20 album charts and became the most upvoted self-posted album in the history of the Reddit/hiphopheads forum. Following the success of the album Diaz was invited to go on a ten show nationwide tour with local superstars Six60 and then in 2016 became the first self-managed, unsigned artist from New Zealand to ever be invited to play SXSW.
Diaz made it to Austin, Texas for SXSW2016 where he began a three month solo journey around America, building his knowledge and network in the music industry. During the trip, Grimm rubbed shoulders with the likes of Chance The Rapper, A$AP Rocky, Alan Kingdom, and was invited to meet with major hip hop blog, HotNewHipHop.
Diaz worked on his single ‘Foreigners’ with Grammy award winning producer and songwriter Mike Elizondo (Prod. of Eminem’s ‘Real Slim Shady’, 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ & The Games ‘How We Do’). ‘Foreigners’ debuted at #16 on the NZ singles charts – the only unsigned, self managed artist in the charts that week – and became the only Kiwi on the front page of the NZTop40.co.nz the week of release.
After two years living in Toronto, Diaz returned home to Aotearoa to build a new ecosystem in the NZ music industry. By artists, for artists. While overseeing dozens of projects, in 2021 Diaz released a full te reo single ‘Te Kore’ featuring Dame Hinewehi Mohi as a part of Waiata Anthems. He was one of the only self-managed, unsigned artists to be involved with the campaign.
Diaz now manages the Indigo studio while managing three new upcoming talents, Mikeyy, HINA & Neverknown.
GINA LINNELL
Gina was first introduced to the music industry 16 years ago when she did poster runs around the capital in exchange for tickets to gigs. This quickly evolved into paid work within various roles as her interest peaked. This experience has allowed her to gain valuable knowledge and understanding of many roles within the Event and Music Industry ecosystem.
These days Gina wears multiple hats as a Music Manager, Promoter & Agent, subsequently leading to roles working on events around the country. Over the past 4 years, she has felt such a shift within the industry, with a true feeling of strength and support from amazing wahine, who all want to make changes to do better in the Music Industry.
Gina feels extremely honoured and proud to partake in the next part of this journey on the mentorship.