MUSIC INDUSTRY LEADERS TEAM UP FOR FREE IGNITE SEMINARS IN MAY

Aspiring musicians, promoters, event managers and artist managers are invited to attend this year's IGNITE Seminars - an official event being held as part of New Zealand Music Month.
 
Held on Saturday, May 5 at Aotea Centre in Auckland; a host of top music industry professionals will offer insights into organising and marketing shows and tours. 
 
IGNITE is proud to host some of New Zealand's top promoters in the Event Management seminar, which will be held in the morning. The session will cover all aspects of event management, from venues and budgets, to ticketing and sponsorship, and much more.
 
The seminar will feature Josh Smith (Rhythm and Vines / Netsky), with two more speakers to be announced. It will be facilitated by Kingsley Melhuish, the Programme Manager at MAINZ.
 
APRA's Communications and Events lead, Lydia Jenkin, will facilitate the Marketing and Publicity seminar held in the afternoon, joined by Josie Campbell (Great Things), Shahlin Graves (Coup De Main / Laneway Festival) and Sahar Lone (Auckland Live).
 
The seminars are free and open to all, thanks to generous support from Auckland Live.
 
IGNITE 2018 is made possible by NZ Music Commission, MAINZ and Creative Communities.
 
For further information and to RSVP to attend, visit  - www.igniteprogramme.org.nz

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
 
Josh Smith has been heavily involved in working across various areas of the live industry. Josh's role at Rhythm and Vines these days is predominantly as an Artist Liaison Manager and is now Netsky's Tour Manager worldwide.
 

Josie Campbell is a freelance publicist working across music releases and live events including music tours, performing arts and occasionally, sport. It all comes under the banner of her small business Great Things. 
 

During the last 15 years, Shahlin Graves has worked as a digital strategy advisor to Laneway Festival and EMI Music NZ, as well as founded the pop-culture magazine Coup De Main.
 

Sahar Lone works in marketing for Auckland Live and has worked for organisations Auckland Arts Festival and NZ International Film Festival. Before that Sahar was a journalist for NZ Herald and Aotearoa's first Asian affairs show on commercial radio.

TAITE MUSIC PRIZE - AND THE WINNER IS

The winner of the ninth annual Taite Music Prize is the inimitable Aldous Harding for her bewitching sophomore album ‘Party’.

The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut 2018 is awarded to West Auckland’s bayou-blues folk quintet, The Miltones for their self-titled album.

The iconic Headless Chickens were presented the Independent Music New Zealand Classic Record award for their landmark 1988 album, Stunt Clown.

In a message from her current base in London, Aldous (Hannah) Hardingreacted to the win with her trademark thoughtful delivery thanking “everyone involved in the making of Party, not just the music itself but the air around it, things around it and the people supporting the future of Party.” Hannah also revealed future plans in her message with a wry smile, “We start recording in the next couple of days, the new album, so I’ll put the money towards making the same mistake.”

The Taite Music Prize highlights outstanding New Zealand albums released in the past year. The award is open to all genres of music from any record label and judged on artistic merit, regardless of genre or sales. Named after the late Dylan Taite, one of the country’s most highly respected music journalists, The Taite Music Prize‘s purpose is to recognise outstanding creativity for an entire collection of music contained on one recording. Hannah receives a cash prize of $10,000 from Taite Music Prize founding partner, Recorded Music NZ. Additionally through the support of Red Bull Studios Auckland, the winner receives recording time at the Red Bull Studios and a year’s supply of product.

As the main prize was announced, the room was hushed in high expectation that met with a roar matching the enthusiasm of the unanimous decision by this year’s panelist of judges. Homage was paid to the undeniable calibre of all of the other finalists and their 2017 releases; Nadia Reid, Kane Strang, The Bads, Grayson Gilmour, Mermaidens, TEEKS and Fazerdaze.

IMNZ Chairperson Matthew Davis comments, “The eye-watering high standard of albums released last year gave us all such inspiration and sense of gratitude to be able to hold these awards again. It’s no surprise looking at the calibre of these nominees that the international attention on New Zealand music continues to grow”.

The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award went to West Auckland five-piece, The Miltones for their self-titled, self-released, debut album delivering their unique spin on bluesy folk-rock Americana. Their calling card debut has provided a massive year for the young band including performance slots at WOMAD, Marchfest and a sold-out album release tour. They receive a $2000 cash prize from IMNZ plus a live performance slot programmed at Auckland Live.
 

Auckland Live’s manager of Programme Development, Georgina Cervin comments, “Representing Auckland Live on the Taite Music Prize judging panel this year has been as much of a challenge as it has been a pleasure. There is a wealth of major talent amongst NZ’s independent artists, and selecting winners from the excellent shortlists was never going to be straightforward. Auckland Live is a strong supporter of NZ music and musicians, and we look forward to developing our relationship with the independent sector as work continues on the Aotea Studios development over the coming years”.

The ceremony included the award presentation of the Independent Music NZ Classic Record. This award acknowledges one New Zealand record released over 20 years ago on an independent label. These records, whether a 12”, a compilation, EP, or full-length album, have become quintessential gold nuggets of our musical history.

This year’s panel gave the nod to the Headless Chickens’ Stunt Clown album as one of Aotearoa’s classic records. The award was presented by Public Address founder, Hard Newsjournalist and Flying Nun Records aficionado, Russell Brown and was accepted by members of the band. Tribute was made to late bandmate Grant Fell who passed away early this year,  before launching into an impromptu rendition of a favourite from Stunt Clown, ‘Fish Song’. 

The Taite Music Prize winner was announced this evening at an event attended by around 350 people in The Wintergarden, the musical belly of Auckland’s magnificent theatre, The Civic. MCs for the evening’s proceedings were 95bFM’s Geneva Alexander and Radio New Zealand’s Alex Behan. The event was live-streamed to the public thanks to Radio NZ National.

IMNZ members Loop Recordings assembled Taite Music Prize House Band featuring Frank Eliesa, Swap Gomez, Kenji Iwamitsu-Holdaway & JY Lee of Yoko-Zuna with guests Anna Coddington, Joel Shadbolt of L.A.B. and Randa. They performed a variety of covers throughout the night including previous Taite Prize Winners – Street Chant’s 'Pedestrian Support League’, alongside Headless Chickens – ‘Expecting To Fly’ and Aldous Harding’s ‘Imagining My Man’.  

The Taite Music Prize panel to determine the finalists was made up of a broad section of music/media/industry specialists. The finalist judges made their decision based entirely on the artistic merit of the winning album. Sales, genres, artist recognition or popularity were not contributing factors in their decision-making process.

2018 Taite Music Prize Judges:

Alan Holt - NZ Music Commission

Billie Rogers – Artist (Street Chant)

Georgina Cervin - Auckland Live

Hugh Sundae - Hollywood Avondale

Joost Langeveld - Big Pop Studios / Artist

Russell Baillie - NZ Listener Arts Editor

Sandy Mill - Artist

Savina Fountain - Ignite / Auckland Stadiums

Silke Hartung - NZ Musician

Teremoana Rapley - Artist

SONGHUBS AUCKLAND: NASHVILLE STARS HEADING SOUTH TO WORK WITH KIWI ARTISTS

They have made successful careers out of writing beloved songs for some of America’s biggest country stars, as well as sweeping ballads and runaway hits for TV shows like Nashville and Grey’s Anatomy. Now these three Nashville residents are coming to New Zealand this April to collaborate with Kiwi songwriters for a week a Roundhead Studios in a program known as SongHubs.

Co-writers, producers and collaborators are the secret weapons of top selling artists and TV stars. Many of the world’s most popular songs are written by songwriters whose names you may not know, but whose musical influence runs far and wide.

SongHubs Auckland brings this experience to New Zealand, bringing songwriters with Emmy wins, and #1 singles under their belts, to sprinkle their songwriting wisdom among local talent.
We’re very pleased to announce the three international guests for this year’s SongHubs Auckland program are Kate York, Marc Beeson, and Heather Morgan.

KATE YORK
Primetime Emmy award winning song-writer Kate York is a versatile artist-writer who has penned music for a diverse range of artists from Little Big Town to Fall Out Boy.
She’s also written songs for numerous hit TV shows and films including Grey’s Anatomy, The Fosters, New Year’s Day, One Tree Hill, Hart of Dixie, and countless songs for the show Nashville – one of which won her an Emmy for the song ‘Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again’.

MARC BEESON
This Illinois native and 25 year Nashville veteran has had over 100 cuts including songs recorded by Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood and Chicago, among others. He's won 10 ASCAP awards including both Country and Pop Song of the Year for his #1, ‘When She Cries’.
As an artist, he's recorded for Warner Bros., BNA and Curb Records. He has served on the Board of NSAI; worked as a mentor in the MTSU music business program and is on the NARAS educational committee. He co-wrote Billy Currington's #1 single, ‘We Are Tonight’ and more recently, the title track of Ashley Monroe's Grammy nominated record, ‘The Blade’, Blake Shelton's ‘She's Got a Way With Words’ and Josh Turner’s #1, ‘Hometown Girl’.

HEATHER MORGAN
Heather Morgan grew up in Richardson, Texas before moving to Nashville, where she signed her first publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. Her songs have been featured on the television show Nashville, recorded by Keith Urban, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Maren Morris, Cole Swindell, A Thousand Horses, The Eli Young Band, Dierks Bentley and Brett Eldredge among others.
A staff songwriter for Sony ATV Music Publishing, Heather celebrated her first #1 in 2014 with Brett Eldredge's song, ‘Beat Of The Music’ which also won her BMI's 2015 Country Song Of The Year. She co-wrote five songs on Brett Eldredge’s self-titled record (released Aug. 2017) and is also enjoying the release of her own artist project in 2018.

Kate, Marc, and Heather will combine with different configurations of local songwriters and producers each day, to write a brand new song. The aim is come to the end of the week with many new songs written and recorded, and new friendships forged.

“Having this calibre of international artists come together to share their talent, knowledge and experience with our songwriters is a huge opportunity” says APRA’s Director of NZ Member Services Victoria Kelly.  “We’re incredibly excited about the music that will come from these collaborations, and the relationships they’ll build.”

We’re also very pleased to announce the list of impressive local writers, performers, and producers who will be working with York, Beeson, and Morgan:

Julia Deans
Alex Wildwood (producer)
Madeleine Bradley
Simon Gooding (producer)
Tom Healy (producer)
Jol Muholland (producer)
Tami Neilson
Jenny Mitchell
Woodes
Marley Sola
Seth Haapu
Taka Perry (producer)
Fraser Browne
Nick Dow
Jamie McDell
Kaylee Bell

We had 150 excellent applications for these 16 places, and were delighted to hear about many great music projects going on across New Zealand and Australia.

In light of the quality of the applications, we decided we would also create a producer internship position this year, in order to give an up and coming producer the opportunity to be involved in the valuable learning experience of SongHubs. For this program, the producer intern will be Maude Morris.

Please contact APRA AMCOS for info and biographies on all participants.
Participants have been selected by SongHubs Auckland curator, producer Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Pluto)

SongHubs is an APRA AMCOS initiative, supported by the Federal Government of Australia. In addition to APRA AMCOS, SongHubs Auckland has been made possible with the support of NZ On Air, Auckland Council, Recorded Music NZ and the New Zealand Music Commission.

ANNA LAVERTY TAKES UP RESIDENCE AT NEWMARKET STUDIOS

Producer, mixer and engineer extraordinaire, Anna Laverty (Florence and The Machine, Nick Cave, Courtney Barnett) will be taking up residence at North Melbourne’s Newmarket Studio for a six month stay, commencing June 1st. 
 
Having learned her craft under the tutelage of Paul Epworth (Adele, Foster The People) and Ben Hillier (Blur, U2) at Miloco Studios in London, working on releases by Bloc Party and Depeche Mode amongst others, Anna Laverty has quickly established herself as one of Australia’s finest young producers.
 
With a reputation for bringing out the full potential of recordings, Anna has built an extraordinary portfolio of production credits in recent times. She has been behind the desk working on projects for some of the most beloved acts in Australia and abroad, including: The Peep Tempel, Something For Kate, Eagle and the Worm, Cut Copy, Meg Mac, Lady GaGa, New Gods, Jae Laffer, Loose Tooth and East Brunswick All Girls Choir.
 
The opportunity to take up residence at Newmarket Studios is an exciting one for Laverty.
 
"I’m honoured to be asked to take over Newmarket for 6 months. I’ve always loved the sound of the records that come out of the studio and can’t wait to get in there and play with all the new (old) toys!”
 
Renowned for its high end recording equipment (including a Kawai Grand Piano and an extensive collection of vintage mics) and its four premium quality, purpose built tracking rooms, Newmarket Studios has been the studio of choice for some of the bigger projects to come out of Australia in recent years, including the acclaimed collaborative album by Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile ‘Lotta Sea Lice’ and King Gizzard and The Lizzard Wizard’s ‘Sketches of Brunswick East’.   
 
Partnering one of Australia’s most talented young engineers with one of the country’s top studios, is certain to produce some extremely exciting results.
 
To enquire about working with Anna at Newmarket Studios, please contact:
 
info@catherineharidy.com

APRA MEMBERS OFFERED WORK SPACE IN LA, NASHVILLE, AND LONDON

Need a fresh work space while on your international tour, or while based in a foreign city? Good news! APRA members now have access to entertainment-oriented work spaces in LA, Nashville, and London.

During a week of whirlwind member events held in Los Angeles, Nashville and London, APRA AMCOS Head of Member Services and incoming CEO Dean Ormston announced that the music rights organisation is offering dedicated workspace to its members and their managers who are increasingly travelling to those cities for professional opportunities. 

Partnering with InDo (pictured) in the heart of Nashville’s music community, APRA AMCOS will not only have desk space and office amenities but writers’ rooms and performance space available.

Hotdesks and office space are available at the legendary RAK Studios in London, where artists including Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and Midnight Oil have recorded. 

In LA, there is desk space available in Hollywood at IgnitedSpaces, a multi-functional hub for a variety of entertainment companies. Plans are underway to offer writers’ rooms and performance spaces in LA and London, with Berlin facilities on the horizon as well.

With APRA AMCOS international representatives already well-established in LA, Nashville and London, the spaces are an investment in the ever-growing contingent of Australian and New Zealand songwriters, producers and composers who are making breakthroughs in the global music industry.

Ormston commented on the initiative: “Today’s global music market is bringing unprecedented overseas opportunities to Aussie and Kiwi songwriters and composers, and APRA AMCOS is committed to travelling with our members every step of the way. With more of our members heading to the world’s most competitive creative hubs, we’re keen to support their creative and business objectives.”

FOR WORKSPACE ENQUIRIES, CONTACT APRA AMCOS INTERNATIONAL REPS: 

LOS ANGELES
Lani Richmond
e: la@apra.com.au

NASHVILLE
Mark Moffat
e: nashville@apra.com.au

UK/EUROPE (based in London)
Adam Townsend
e: atownsend@apra.com.au

The Noisefloor release the first video from the epic "Tavern Of Power Project"

Late last year Matthew Crawley and Nicholas Harrison announced they were closing down their much loved bar, The Golden Dawn: Tavern Of Power. However, they couldn’t go out without a bang; an epic summer programmed with their favourite artists, DJs and events. 69 nights of the best talent around.

So much more than a bar The Golden Dawn: Tavern Of Power is an important community space.  Originally intended as simply a Ponsonby pop-up the venue soon took on a more noteworthy role. It is the spiritual home to a multitude of musicians, artists, professionals and other creatives. A much loved performance space of both indie and mainstream artists. The audience a unique intersection of urban professionals and fringe bohemians. It is vital jewel in the Auckland nightlife crown… and it always sounds great!

It was with all this in mind that long time sound engineer Bob Frisbee and had an idea: The Tavern Of Power Project - he and the team at The Noisefloor would multi-track record and multi-camera film every single performance in the venue’s final three months. All 69 shows!!

The aim of the project is to capture a complete snapshot of a significant cultural hub. One that’s been a incubator and showcase for many upcoming and major artists over the last seven years. To capture both the performances and the atmosphere.

The project is intended as both an archive and a celebration; of the venue’s diversity, inclusivity and above all the exceptional music that graced it’s tiny stage.  There will be a vast pool of all types footage filmed over the 3 months; from the base crew of camera people and guest shooters who have a long association with the venue and the performers. It is firmly impressed upon all camera people that they are to maintain a low key presence.. not be in the face of patrons or performers and to not interfere with the special Golden Dawn vibe.

The epic lineup of final shows includes: Nadia Reid, Samuel Flynn Scott & Luke Buda (Phoenix Foundation), Lawrence Arabia, Tiny Ruins, The Beths, Surfing USSR, Tyra And The Tornados, Slumbug, Shoddy, Sal Valentine And The Babyshakes, Magic Factory, Wax Chattels, Womb, Best Bets, Emily Edrosa, The Situations, Voom, Shaft, Jonathan Besser And The Zestnicks, Suren Unka, Heavy, Dbldbl, Coco Solid, Water, Sea Views, The Groove Sessions, Bonaparte, GAMER, The Sandy Mill Band, Francois, The Atlas Mountains, Hopetoun Brown, Peter Baecker, Trip Pony, Skilaa, Echo Oh’s, Centre Negative, File Folder, LA Suffocated, Flying So High-Os, Soccer Practise, Lisa Crawley, Boycrush, Audrey’s Dance, Spring Break, Guardian Singles, The Ruby Suns, Tono, Randa, Caitlin Smith, The Big Flip Massive, Carb On Carb, Being, The Circling Sun, Herriot Row, Spanner, Fabulous Arabia, Delaney Davidson, Jebu Pleasure Club, Ruckus, Orchestra Of Spheres, New Farben, Dateline, Polyester.

The results so far have been amazing and The Noisefloor is kicking the project off with a teaser video on their website, which provides a taste of what is to come. There are lot’s of exciting ideas in the works...announcements soon.

“Some nights at Golden Dawn you just knew..  this was the best thing happening in the world right now.”

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tavernofpowerproject

www.thenoisefloor.co.nz/tavern-of-power-project.html

IGNITE OPENS ITS DOORS TO YOUNG KIWI PRODUCERS AGED 15-18

The youth development programme IGNITE is opening its doors to up-and-coming producers, with three of New Zealand's leading producers and engineers announced as mentors.
 
IGNITE, which nurtures and empowers young people to pursue their passion in music, was established in 2016. Applications for the 2018 programme opened earlier this month, now the programme is being extended to include Music Production, which will run parallel to the Event Management stream. Applications are now open and close on Sunday 11 March, 6pm - apply here.

The 12-week programme will also focus on the power of mentoring; offering participants aged 15-18 a very unique experience and hands-on approach and the opportunity to learn from the best. Participants will also attend various seminars, workshops and venue tours.  Under the guidance of their mentors, each participant will produce one finished track by the end of the programme, thanks to Golden Age Studio, Saiko Studios and Depot Sound.  There are three placements available and there is no cost to participate in the programme, which will run from April 7 to June 28.

Participants will be mentored by three of New Zealand's most well-known and successful producers and engineers - Josh Fountain (MAALA, Openside, Theia, Mitch James, Matthew Young), Djeisan Suskov (Saski, SACHI, Chores, Abby Wolfe, Openside) and Dave Rhodes (The Warratahs, Head Like A Hole, Push Push, Brendon Thomas and the Vibes).

WIN SOME LOVE FROM UNSIGNED ONLY

We wanted to let you know that Unsigned Only is running a special two-week promotion, "Win Some Love," from February 14-28, 2018 for all artists not signed to a "major" record label (indies are totally fine).

This is a chance to  win some great prizes (valued at $10,000) – plus all entries entered between Feb 14-28, 2018 will be automatically entered into the 2018 Unsigned Only Music Competition and will be eligible for the overall competition prizes. Enter as many songs as you like in as many categories as you like! A First, Second, and Third Place winner will be selected in this special promotion. Prizes for Win Some Love include merchandise and services from Indie Bible, Shure, Vinylify, Supreme Tracks, Celebrity Access, D'Addario, Disc Makers, Radio Airplay, and Symphonic Distribution. Click here for a full prize listing of both the overall competition prizes and the Win Some Love prizes. 

What Is Unsigned Only? 

Unsigned Only is designed for solo artists, bands, and singers all over the world who are unsigned to a major label record deal. Limiting the competition to unsigned artists levels the playing field for entrants because they are not competing with well-known artists, Grammy winners, or artists with a major label machine behind them.