5 NEW VIDEOS, 15 TRACKS & A NEW WEBSITE FROM TONI HUATA

Toni Huata certainly has been busy! She has launched a new website www.tonihuata.com and been back in the studio recording new waiata and remixing favourite tracks with producer Paddy Free and friends. The new 15 track album is called TE RERENGA - THE JOURNEY starting with single He Tangata to Iwi Radio from June 5th! Look out for teasers of every track when the new website goes live!

She has also teamed up again with award winning Penn Productions now known as Motion Valley to bring you 5 new music videos. The plan is to bring new waiata and music videos every month with all release updates will be on Toni's website.

WAIORA featured Toni and actress Oribe Maipi and has a special filmic quality with a story based on rejuvenation of the water.

Toni’s Iwi radio hit, TAHURI MAI features two amazing actors John Ulu Va'a and Mariarangi Carkeek. The waiata is about young love.
 

June 1

June 15, Wellington (rain day 16)
5.30pm – Recut 2018, Civic Square, Wellington. Toni will be performing AIO, https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/recut-n-matariki-ki-p-neke-2018/wellington

June 16, Wellington
6pm - Ngāti Porou Matariki Ball - Preview performance of Te Rerenga songs, The Pines, 

June 15, Hastings
5pm - (performance invitation) Kahungunu Matariki, Flaxmere Park, https://www.facebook.com/Matariki-Festival-Heretaunga-Flaxmere-992507467491947/

June 16, Napier
5pm - (performance invitation) Kahungunu Matariki, Napier Sound Shell, 

June 29, Wellington (rain day 30th)
6 - 10pm - AHI KAA ki Poneke 2018 (new event) Wharewaka to Te Papa stages, Opens at Lagoon - Toni performs Matariki song at opening and later on Reo Ora and Electronica Stages - Previews songs from Te Rerenga. Ahi Kaa, Olins Plaza, Wellington Waterfront, https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/ahi-k-matariki-ki-p-neke-2018/wellington

July 5, Wellington
7pm – 20th Gold Awards, Performs Aio at opening (with video debut), TSB Arena, https://goldawards.co.nz/event+details+%26+tickets?src=nav

July 6, Auckland
6pm - He Wiki Kiriata Māori - Screening of AIO and performance of songs from Te Rerenga, 

July 7, Wellington (rain day July 8th)
6.30-6.40pm - Matariki Sky Light Show 2018 (fireworks instead of Nov 5 now) broadcast on More FM and The Breeze soundtrack with excerpts of Toni's songs Matariki, E Nga Reo, Hā, Te Rerenga Tākitimu, Te Kākano, AIO, Arise during fireworks. https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/wellington-sky-show-matariki-ki-p-neke-2018/wellington  

Not to mention the countdown to Māori Music Month and Māori Language Week for the album launch of TE RERENGA  with the announcement of performances in Hastings and Wellington closer to the time.

BIGSOUND 2018 & WOMEX 2018 DELEGATE GRANTS

The New Zealand Music Commission is pleased to announce that delegate applications to attend BIGSOUND 2018 and WOMEX 2018 are now open.

BIGSOUND 2018

BIGSOUND, now in its 17th year, has a reputation as the best and most relevant music industry event in Australia. Produced by QMusic, BIGSOUND is positioned as Australia's most internationally focused conference.

BIGSOUND draws top national and international industry talent to Brisbane each year, forming a vibrant collection of musicians, buyers and industry experts to create an environment of new music discovery.

BIGSOUND allows the public seamless access to live and original music throughout the program in a variety of Fortitude Valley clubs and venues across two nights. BIGSOUND Live 2018 will see 140 bands perform in 14 venues for one of the most exciting industry festivals and showcases in the Southern Hemisphere.

BIGSOUND is held in Brisbane from Tuesday 4th to Friday 7thof September 2018.

More information can be found on: https://www.bigsound.org.au/

WOMEX 2018

WOMEX is the World Music Expo. It is an international networking platform for the world music industry. The annual five-day event comprises a bustling trade fair, showcase festival, conference, and film programme, as well as festive Opening and Award ceremonies. The market has a focus on contemporary music in the world, roots, reggae, dub, contemporary soul and traditional forms.

WOMEX is held in different cities every year. This year WOMEX will be held in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, from Wednesday 24thto Sunday the 28thOctober 2018.

More information can be found here: www.womex.com

Outward Sound Delegate Grants

Since July 2013 Outward Sound have offered Targeted Tradeshow grants to support our managers, labels and musicians at selected and targeted trade events of which BIGSOUND and WOMEX are two. 

Outward Sound offers successful applicants 50% recoupable support up to a tradeshow specific value. Recoupable costs are limited to airfares, delegate registration, accommodation and per diems. The grants will be offered outside of the established Outward Sound quarterly grant rounds. A breakdown of the two delegate grants and the amount of funding available follows:

WOMEX Delegate: Up to $2,500 to cover 50% of return economy airfares from New Zealand to Las Palmas, Canary Islands, delegate registration to the conference, accommodation (up to 5 nights) and per diems (up to 5 days).

BIGSOUND Delegate: Up to $1,000 to cover 50% of return economy airfares from New Zealand to Melbourne, delegate registration to the conference, accommodation (up to 4 nights) and per diems (up to 4 days).

Contact the Outward Sound office to discuss your project and receive an application form.

For further information please contact international@nzmusic.org.nz

Applications for both BIGSOUND and WOMEX delegate grants close 5pm June 18th2018. 

THIRD ANNUAL E TU WHANAU SONG COMPETITION PULLS IN THE TALENT

Writers of original songs that inspire positive change are being encouraged to get their entries into the third annual E Tū Whānau Song competition as soon as possible, to maximise their votes and chance of winning.

“We’re asking people write an original song that incorporates one or more of the E Tū Whānau values  – Aroha, Whanaungatanga, Whakapapa, Mana/Manaaki, Kōrero Awhi, and Tikanga,” says competition organiser, Teresa McGregor. 

E Tū Whānau is a movement encouraging New Zealanders from all communities to reject unacceptable levels of violence in Aotearoa by nurturing and celebrating the things that make whānau strong.

“We want people to challenge attitudes that accept violence in any form and this competition is a great way of doing that,” Teresa McGregor says.

Entries for the online song competition are currently flooding onto the E Tū Whānau facebook page where anyone can vote once a day for any number of songs, including their own. Those that attract most votes in the peoples poll will then be judged by award winning singers, Maisey Rika and Tawaroa Kawana and producer, Maaka ‘Phat’, who’ll choose the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners. Entries close at 5pm on 11th June 2018 and voting closes at 5pm on Wednesday 20th June. 

The E Tū Whānau Song Competition’s focus on grassroots talent attracts a large popular following. Last year’s winning entry, “One Love” by the group East Coast Breevas, has had 27,000 views on YouTube. Whilst 2016 winner “Whakatō Te Kākano” by Mauri has spent 49 weeks in the Top 20 Te Reo Māori Airplay Chart.

A music clip for the song “Bring Mana To Your Name” by Pianika Duncan, which attracted the most votes in 2016, has achieved an impressive 105,000 Facebook views. The song propelled Pianika into the finals in the Best Female Vocalist category at the 2017 Waiata Māori Music Awards.

Tawaroa Kawana from chart-topping group Maimoa Music is a judge for the first time this year, joining Maisey Rika and producer, Maaka ‘Phat” who have been involved in the competition since it started in 2016. 

“This competition has captured the imagination of whānau throughout the motu because it showcases the depth of talent in our communities,” says Maaka Phat.

"People everywhere are making inspirational, meaningful music and the E Tū Whānau Song Competition gives them a chance to share it with us all.”  

First prize in the 2018 E Tū Whānau Song Competition is worth $5000. Second prize is $2000 and 3rd prize $1000. The song that receives the most votes will receive $2000. Entrants are asked to upload footage of their song being performed to YouTube and complete the online entry form on the E Tū Whānaufacebook page.

20 BANDS IN 2 HOURS 2018

What's the story?

The idea to fill an entire radio show with live music originated as a crazy student radio folly. Several instalments later the 2018 show moves to a larger venue but with the very same goal - to showcase a variety of fine local music to music lovers in one fun night. 

Every act plays one song, then there'll be a frantic changeover, for the next one to follow.

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of NZ Musician magazine, the one local music magazine still standing. It's still available in print twice a year and all year round online - squeezing 20 local acts into two hours in NZ Music Month seems a good way to celebrate!.

 

The Line Up

This year's line up is an eclectic mix of all genres, and for the first time we'll be joined by musicians from outside Auckland, notably Candice Milner from Christchurch, Daniel Young from Wellington and Tui Mamaki of Acapollinations from the Far North. A taste of this variety of genres and ages will make for an awesome live "mixtape" of some of our finest local music, both upcoming and well-established. How many gigs have you been to in recent times that offered rock, soul, hip hop and bagpipes in the same line up?

The Full Line Up In Alphabetical Order:

Acapollinations, Bels, Bernie Griffen & The Thin Men, Bone Unit, Boom Boom Deluxe, Candice Milner, Dave Weir, Dead Beat Boys, Dean Whaitiri, Dual, Fables, Felix The Thyrd, George Young, JessB, Miho Wada, OrigiNZ, Savannah, Shed, The Low Low, The Prophet Motive, and Wilde Taylor Jones. 

THE 2018 OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC MONTH SUMMIT ‘CONFRONTING ISSUES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’

NZ Music Managers Forum, NZ Music Commission in association with Recorded Music NZ, APRA AMCOS and NZ On Air present

THE 2018 OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC MONTH SUMMIT

‘CONFRONTING ISSUES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’

 

The Official Music Month Summit returns for 2018, and this year it is tackling some of the issues the Music Industry has been facing up to over the last year.

Held at the Herald Theatre in the Aotea Centre in Auckland, the Summit features a stellar line up of music industry professionals and speakers, who will challenge and create thought-provoking  conversation around some of the industry issues that have been highlighted in the past twelve months.

The day comprises of four sessions, with four speakers for each topic and an open Q&A after each session.   The subjects and speakers are:

WOMEN IN MUSIC  

With the worldwide explosion of #MeToo and the gender pay gap revelations, gender inequality has been a hot topic this year across all industries.  Four women from different areas within Music Industry will talk about their experiences. 

DIVERSITY IN MUSIC

Is there racial and LGBTQ discrimination within the music industry? Four artists share their experiences and point of view drawing from their individual journeys.

WELLBEING

Health and wellbeing are fundamental to music-making at all levels, but also across all areas of the industry – management, production, crew.  Four speakers from different corners of the Music Industry share their stories.

REGIONAL ISOLATION

 Even though NZ is a small country, it is amazing how being a few miles away from the main hubs can create a feeling of disconnection from the industry. Four influential execs discuss their challenges and achievements in creating active and viable regional hubs.

For more information and full bio details on the Summit http://www.mmf.co.nz/2018-summit

This year there is a $10 (plus booking fees) charge to attend the Summit with 100% of the ticket income donated to the NZ Music Foundation.- a charity dedicated to changing lives through music.   

Tickets are from Ticketmaster

If the ticket price will be a barrier to you attending, please contact Lorraine Owen at the MMF – lorraine.owen@mmf.co.nz.

NZ Music Managers Forum, NZ Music Commission in association with Recorded Music NZ, APRA AMCOS and NZ On Air present

The 2018 Official NZ Music Month Summit

‘CONFRONTING ISSUES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’

Date:Saturday May 26

Location: The Herald Theatre – Aotea Square, Auckland

Times: 10am to 4pm

Tickets from:  Ticketmaster

Full information: http://www.mmf.co.nz/2018-summit

With thanks to Auckland Live 

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.