TAITE MUSIC PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY CONFIRMED FOR MAY 5TH

The 11th
TAITE MUSIC PRIZE

2020

Streaming live on Facebook
Tuesday 5th May 2020
Watch the Taite Music Prize awards ceremony live straight from your living room on May 5th!

Today, Independent Music NZ (IMNZ) confirm details of the Taite Music Prize awards ceremony taking place Tuesday, May 5th at 6:30 pm. Alongside the main Taite Music Prize, winners of the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut, Independent Music NZ Classic Record and the Independent Spirit Award will accept their awards via live stream at the following media outlets: 95bFM, APRA AMCOS, Auckland Live, IMNZ, Native Tongue, NZ Music Commission, NZ Music Month, NZ On Air Music, Radio NZ, Recorded Music NZ, Red Bull Studios AKL, The Label NZ, Undertheradar. 

Save the date and celebrate the 11th annual Taite Music Prize with some of New Zealand's finest musicians. You won't want to miss it! Full list of finalists below.

Named after the late Dylan Taite, one of New Zealand’s most respected music journalists, the award recognises outstanding creativity for an entire collection of music contained on one recording. The prize-winner will receive a cash prize of NZ$12,500 to be spent as they wish, thanks to Taite Music Prize founding partner Recorded Music NZ; recording time at Red Bull Studios Auckland; and a year’s supply of Red Bull product. This year’s ten finalists, from a list of 54 nominations submitted by record labels both independent and major from across the country, are:

Aldous Harding - Designer (Flying Nun Records/4AD)Beastwars - IV (Destroy Records)JessB - New Views (JessB/The Orchard)L.A.B. - L.A.B. III (Loop Recordings Aot(ear)oa)Lawrence Arabia - Lawrence Arabia’s Singles Club (Honorary Bedouin Records)Louis Baker - Open (Louis Baker Music/Ditto Music)Mermaidens - Look Me In The Eye (Flying Nun Records)Miss June - Bad Luck Party (Miss June/Frenchkiss Records/The Orchard)Tiny Ruins - Olympic Girls (Ursa Minor)Troy Kingi - Holy Colony Burning Acres (Triple A Records)

The three finalists for the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut are:

Tom Ludvigson & Trevor Reekie - Roto (Jazzscore)Repulsive Woman - Relief (Independent) Mousey - Lemon Law (Independent)

Previous Taite Music Prize finalists returning with their latest albums include; Lawrence Arabia (three-time finalist and winner of the first-ever Taite Music Prize in 2010 for Chant Darling), Aldous Harding (two-time finalist and winner of the Taite Music Prize 2018 for Party), Beastwars (twice nominated for their self titled debut in 2012 and Blood Becomes Fire in 2014), Tiny Ruins (Taite finalist in 2012 for Some Were Meant For Sea and in 2015 for Brightly Painted One). 
Alongside the main prize, three additional awards will be presented at the ceremony: the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award, the newly created Independent Spirit Award, awarded to a New Zealand person who assists our NZ musicians to grow and find their own unique pathways, and the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, celebrating the freshest talent of Aotearoa. The winner receives a $2,000 cash prize and a live performance opportunity with thanks to Auckland Live.

NZ MUSIC MONTH 2020 ENCOURAGES KIWIS TO SUPPORT AOTEAROA’S MUSIC INDUSTRY

NZ Music Month kicks off on Friday, May 1st and the theme for this year is simple: Support Local. Stream Local. Follow Local. Buy Local.

This May marks the twentieth NZ Music Month, and while a big month of live events and retrospection was planned, the world has changed a lot in the past month – so NZ Music Month 2020 is set to look a little different to usual. While we are in our homes, there are still plenty of ways Kiwis can support local music, the people who create it, and the people who make it possible.

NZ Music Month’s Rodney Fisher commented: "So much has changed in the past few weeks and this May will be unlike any NZ Music Month we’ve seen before. However, one thing that has absolutely not changed is the fantastic music being made by artists right across Aotearoa. May is the perfect time to support your favourite New Zealand acts, and make some new local music discoveries.”

Initiatives planned for NZ Music Month 2020 range from digitally streamed events, radio specials, online seminars and hui. Below is a snapshot of what’s lined-up, with lots more detail to follow, particularly as the news cycle develops:

• The NZ Music Commission have partnered with E NOHO to deliver a live stream from various regions this May to showcase emerging talent and new discoveries. The weekly stream will be hosted by musician Ed Waaka and will feature three acts per show, every Friday at 8pm during May via E NOHO and NZ Music Month’s Facebook pages. E NOHO is a live stream music show created in response to COVID-19 to help promote mental wellbeing and connection through music and storytelling.

• Online seminars and hui will continue during May, with lots of great advice on building a music career and profile when musicians can’t go on tour. This includes Independent Music NZ’s Going Local seminars and the annual NZ Music MonthSummit, presented in conjunction with the NZ Music Manager’s Forum.

• A host of NZ Music specials are planned with various radio stations across the country, which we are looking forward to highlighting over the month.

• Two Daze are set to release their second compilation, featuring tracks from across Aotearoa that were recorded in just 48 hours.

• Holiday Records are running a campaign during the first half of NZ Music Month to choose the first 7” pressed in NZ since 1987.

• Many events that were in the calendar for May will go ahead online, including the Nook & Cranny Festival in Dunedin and Raglan Roast, which will now be a weekly show, streamed from a coffee shop each Saturday night. There is going to be a bumper crop of online events to enjoy from the comfort of your home, and the NZ Music Month Facebook Event page will have all of the details as they come to hand.

More information will be released in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, we encourage Kiwis to engage with the extensive catalogue of fantastic local music available to buy, listen to and support right now.

Some of the activities scheduled for this year that are unable to happen will hopefully be part of the celebration in 2021 – an art exhibition, an all age regional tour, seminars and a symposium. Think of it as a 21st of sorts, without the yard-glass.

NZ Music Month is run by the NZ Music Commission, with support from APRA AMCOS, Independent Music NZ, the Music Managers Forum, NZ On Air and Recorded Music NZ. The purpose of NZ Music Month to celebrate music from New Zealand, and the people who make it.

NZ Music Month 2020. Support Local. Stream Local. Follow Local. Buy Local.

Collective music industry news update - Monday April 20

As we dive into week four of lock-down, we have a few items to update and some news and info to share.

Aotearoa Music Industry Hui – The Sequel

First-up, the collective music industry organisations will be hosting another online hui this Thursday at 11am. The first one was held nearly two weeks ago, and we didn’t get the opportunity to address all the questions, plus there are some new developments to talk about, so representatives from the NZ Music Commission, NZ On Air, Recorded Music NZ, APRA AMCOS NZ, IMNZ, MMF NZ, Creative NZ, Te Mangai Paho, and SOUNZ will come to you via Facebook Live and YouTube for a chat. Everyone is welcome to watch and participate via the comments section.

https://www.facebook.com/events/532854024317552/

 Financial assistance available

Secondly, although many of you will be all over this already, we want to make sure everyone knows about the financial assistance available to them in these challenging times. Below is a round up of info, eligibility, what you get, and links to apply for the WINZ government subsidy, the Creative NZ Emergency Relief Grant, and the MusicHelps Emergency Grant.

Two particular things to note:

1)      The Creative NZ grant is open to a wide variety of ‘arts practitioners’, which includes not only the ‘artists’ themselves, but also those who are involved in bringing those art forms to the public, whose main source of income is derived from an arts practice. So this could include musicians and songwriters, as well as producers, engineers, managers, live crew, stage managers, publicists etc. Please check out the info from Creative NZ, and contact them if you’re not sure about your eligibility.

2)      The MusicHelps Emergency Grant is officially open for applications, but due to the large volume of applications received this morning, they have temporarily stopped taking applications while this first batch are processed. The application form will be live again at 5pm today. 

https://apraamcos.co.nz/news/2020/april/financial-assistance-during-covid-19/

There was also an excellent financial and accounting advice online seminar hosted by MMF NZ with Jeni Rowney from Entertainment Accounting last week. They provided advice and answers to questions about the various grants, and their tax implications , as well as sharing general advice about your accounting practices as artists. You can watch the video back here:

https://www.facebook.com/MMFNewZealand/videos/153361826094012/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

NZ On Air music funding announcements

In further funding news, NZ On Air have announced a boost to their next New Music Single funding round, with an allowance for 40 grants in the forthcoming round (the budget usually allows for usually 23-24 grants per round).

The application deadline is 4pm Thursday 23 April.

https://newmusicsingles.nzonair.govt.nz

They have also confirmed the focus round New Music Pasifika is taking place in May – with applications opening on 7 May and the deadline on Thursday 21 May. Guidelines will be issued before the end of this month.

While they remain open for contracting and payments please be aware that NZ On Air are experiencing a very high volume of claims and queries at the moment, so if you are putting through a claim for payment on a funded Single or Project please note there may be a delay. Please also ensure all your required paperwork is correct so we can process your claim as quickly as possible.

Recorded Music NZ Distribution

And on the subject of paperwork, Recorded Music NZ is calling all Direct-to-Recording Artist Registered Artists and Labels to make sure they have registered all new recordings released in 2019 with Recorded Music NZ prior to the deadline of 30th April 2020 for the 2019 calendar year distribution. This is more important than ever as it will assist Recorded Music to make an accurate and timely distribution. To register your recordings please do this by visiting your Recorded Music artist login page or contacting their member services team by email.

Government announces Tax Changes to Support NZ Business

The Government announced a further set of tax proposals to help businesses manage the impacts of COVID-19. Some of this information may be of assistance to you and your music business. Fact sheets and the full Government announcement is here.

SOUNZ online workshops and concerts

SOUNZ have been hosting a wonderful array of workshops/wānanga and concerts while we’re in lock down. On Friday evening they hosted the beautiful ‘Oro Atua - a Puoro Māori sound healing journey’ with Jerome Kavanagh. You can watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/SOUNZnz/videos/559216481401116/

And you can also watch a wide array of SOUNZ Online concert series here: https://news.sounz.org.nz/sounz-concerts/

Te Māngai Pāho feedback survey

Te Māngai Pāho is seeking feedback on how Mate Korona (COVID-19) has affected you.

The survey is open to all their funded entities, including production companies, independent creators, broadcasters and media outlets as well as contractors. If you receive TMP funding and have been impacted by Mate Korona - they want to hear from you!

The information collected will help Te Māngai Pāho best respond to this unprecedented situation and shape their short-term mitigation planning. Survey responses will be confidential and can be made anonymously.

Take the survey now

Please have your responses through by 5:00pm Sunday 26 April

NZ Music Month – it’s happening

NZ Music Month kicks off on Friday, May 1st and the theme for this year is simple: Support Local. Stream Local. Follow Local. Buy Local.

This May marks the twentieth NZ Music Month, and while a big month of live events and retrospection was planned, the world has changed a lot in the past month – so NZ Music Month 2020 is set to look a little different to usual. 
Initiatives planned for NZ Music Month 2020 range from digitally streamed events, radio specials, online seminars and hui. Plans include live-streams to showcase emerging talent; IMNZ’s Going Local series; MMF NZ’s annual NZ Music Month Summit; NZ music specials across a variety of radio stations; a Holiday Records competition to be the first 7 inch pressed in NZ since 1987; and many virtual festivals.

Check out more info here: https://www.nzmusic.org.nz/news/commission/nz-music-month-2020-its-on-the-way/

TUTAHI - STAY

Stay Home, Save Lives

Created by over 20 artists in collaboration while in lock down, ‘Stay’ is a waiata created with one simple goal - encouraging the people of Aotearoa to “stay home, save lives”.

The brainchild of Te Māngai Pāho and Loop, the track & video were written, produced & recorded remotely by over 20 artists in just seven days, showcasing how New Zealanders are able to pull together in a time of crisis.

‘Stay’ was written and arranged by Anna Coddington, Rob Ruha, Scott Tindale and Brad Kora, Ara Adams-Tamatea & Joel Shadbolt (L.A.B), with a wide range of sixteen vocalists featured throughout including - Anna Coddington, Bailey Wiley, Hollie Smith, Ria Hall, Theia, Fran Kora (Kora), Jackson Owens, Joel Shadbolt (L.A.B), Kings, Logan Bell (Katchafire), Pere Wihongi (Maimoa), Rei, Rob Ruha, Stan Walker, Tiki Taane & Troy Kingi.

‘Stay’ is the final result, written, recorded & edited in seven days, remotely combining over 20 of New Zealand’s most exciting and well known artists together with a clear and simple message - “this isn’t forever, we’re in this together”.

All proceeds from ‘Stay’ will be donated to Music Helps, who are doing great things to help those in the music industry affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The idea for ‘Stay’ was inspired by the work of a Uganda music artist that Anaru Mill, Head of government fund Manaaki, had come across in his mahi at COVID Command. Anaru suggested to colleague Te Atawhai Tibble that Kiwi artists should do one. Atawhai called Nadia Marsh, Kaiarahi Puoro at Te Māngai Pāho, to see what could be done. She engaged Mikee Tucker from Loop, and the project began to come together.

“He wairua māhorahora tō te waiata nei, nā te hao kia whakakotahi tātau i a tātau.” (“The spirit of the song is warm & inviting, inspired by the desire to bring people together.”) - Rob Ruha, co-songwriter.

“It’s inspiring to see what can be achieved from lockdown in seven days! A fun project with an important message that utilised the full power of the internet.” - Mikee Tucker of Loop

“Te Māngai Pāho is proud to be able to support this kaupapa. What an achievement to capture so much love and talent in a song in such a short time. We thank and congratulate Mikee Tucker and all the incredible artists whose collaborative breath has given birth to this waiata. Mauri oho, mauri tū, mauri ora!” - Larry Parr, Chairman of Te Māngai Pāho

‘Stay’ Features Anna Coddington Bailey Wiley Hollie Smith Ria Hall Theia Ara Adams-Tamatea (L.A.B) Brad Kora (L.A.B) Fran Kora (Kora) Jackson Owens Joel Shadbolt (L.A.B) Kings Logan Bell (Katchafire) Pere Wihongi (Maimoa) Rei Rob Ruha Stan Walker Tiki Taane Troy Kingi

MusicHelps announces COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Grant for kiwi music workers

MusicHelps has announced the details of its initial emergency grant response to the COVID-19 crisis, which in just a few short weeks has shattered the livelihoods of kiwi music workers nationwide.

The music industry charity will be making a $500 rapid response grant available to people that are New Zealand citizens or residents, have been working for pay in the music industry for the last 5 years and have experienced loss of income as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and cancelations.

The charity will be making 200 grants available initially, after which it will review the success of the programme.

MusicHelps is encouraging applications from the full range of music industry workers. Roadies, riggers, technicians, crew, performers, songwriters, managers and anyone who has lost income from their work in the production or performance of live or recorded music in Aotearoa are invited to apply.

Applications for the grant can be made online from Monday 20 April at the charity’s website: https://musichelps.org.nz/covid-19-grant . More information on the grant is available at this address now.

The MusicHelps COVID-19 Emergency Grant has been made possible by the MusicHelpsLive campaign, where over 60 organisations and companies have come together to raise awareness of the grave impact of the crisis on the kiwi music industry.

The campaign has promoted ways for New Zealanders to donate to a fundraising appeal to provide vital emergency financial assistance & wellbeing support services to the kiwi music community.

Since it was launched last week, the fundraising appeal has so far raised over $210,000 from more than 230 donations.

The MusicHelpsLive appeal can be found at https://musichelpslive.co.nz MusicHelps will distribute 100% of all funds raised through the MusicHelpsLive appeal to kiwi music people in need through this and further grant rounds.

NZ MUSIC INDUSTRY COVID-19 UPDATE- 3 APRIL

The effects of Covid-19 continue to provide a great deal of uncertainty and raise a lot of questions
for the music community. There are many challenges ahead, and while we all try to adapt to this new normal, we want to assure you that the music industry bodies are operating at full capacity, and continuing to meet twice a week to share plans, actions, ideas, and resources to try and reimagine the future.

We wanted to provide music whanau with a further update as we head into the weekend, with a few pieces of good news that might be helpful at this time.

MUSIC INDUSTRY HUI - YOU'RE INVITED

The collective music organisations are hosting an online hui next Thursday at 11am on Facebook, to update you all on the various actions and initiatives we're working on, and connect with our music whanau.

Representatives from NZ On Air, NZ Music Commission, Creative NZ, Recorded Music NZ, Te Māngai Pāho, and APRA AMCOS NZ will speak, moderated by wonderful Teresa Patterson from MMF NZ, with support from IMNZ, OneMusic NZ, SOUNZ, and MusicHelps.

It will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas. Everyone is welcome, and if you're not able to join in live, the video will be available to watch afterwards.

WHEN: Thursday April 9, 11am

WHERE: Facebook and YouTube Live (you’ll see links on all of social media pages next week)

WHAT: Updates and Q&A from the collective music industry organisations

MUSICHELPS LIVE

While we absolutely appreciate that very few people in the music industry are in a position to make charitable donations at the moment, we wanted to let you know about this new MusicHelps campaign that's going on, raising some emergency funds for the NZ music community. MusicHelpsLive launched on Monday, and so far has raised $205,782 from 141 generous donors. The aim is to raise $2 million to see kiwi music people through the coming winter. All funds raised will be distributed to those music workers whose livelihoods have been shattered as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

It's wonderful to see artists helping to spread the word about MusicHelpsLive already - Vodafone and LiveNation's Lounge Jam series with Tiki Taane, Hollie Smith and Dave Dobbyn; NicNak's Lockdown Live series with Ashy, Harry Parsons, and Dillastrate; and OUSA's Jam On Toast music festival, have all committed to helping the cause. Get in touch with MusicHelps if you're keen to get involved! www.musichelpslive.co.nz

NZ ON AIR FUNDING

NZ On Air announced their next New Music Single round will still go ahead as planned with the deadline of 23 April and results announced 21 May.

They also confirmed the second of their Pasifika focus rounds - New Music Pasifika. Applications for this focus round will open on Thursday 7 May and close on Thursday 21 May and more details and criteria will be coming soon. Follow @nzonairmusic on social channels or see nzonair.govt.nz for updates.

NZ On Air is also keen to emphasise to artists and creators who have a funded Single or Project in the works that they completely understand there are likely to be delays given the current Covid-19 Alert level 4 status in NZ. They just ask that artists contact NZ On Air to update them on the revised plans for your release – or just to advise that it’s delayed until you can make a plan! Best email address for these updates is newmusic@nzonair.govt.nz

The latest NZ On Air NewTracks release for April was released this morning and contains a massive 40 brand new NZ tracks across a range of genre. The compilation goes to a wide selection of media both in NZ and Australia including radio networks and streaming services.

NZ On Air is also working closely with the stations of the Student Radio Network who support a huge amount of New Zealand artists. Like all media advertising revenue has slumped for this sector so NZ On Air are working with those stations to try and provide some stability through these trying times so they can continue to expose a wide range of new NZ music and artists.

NZ MUSIC COMMISION - OUTWARD SOUND GRANTS

The Music Commission’s Outward Sound international investment programme has a round scheduled to close on 20 April. For this round, Outward Sound will be accepting targeted applications for artists to continue promoting recent international releases in overseas markets.

More information is available here.

MMF MENTORING SESSIONS

The MMF are holding bi-weekly group mentoring sessions with a selection of their mentors starting next week and will soon be starting weekly online seminars covering a range of topics.

RECORDED MUSIC NZ ROYALTY DISTRIBUTIONS

RMNZ are in the process of finalising the 2020 distribution and intend to bring the date forward as soon as they can. In order to swiftly and efficiently make that distribution they are asking everyone to make sure they register all new recordings released in 2019 with them prior to the deadline of 30th April 2020.

There is still a small number of artists have not claimed their royalties from the 2019 distribution, if this may be you please access your RMNZ artist login page and complete the details. If you have any questions please contact the membership team: memberservices@recordedmusic.co.nz

Also, you can now check out all of the weekly radio airplay charts online and they are now available via www.radioscope.co.nz . These charts are based on airplay data collected from 60 stations including all major commercial stations, student and iwi radio.

APRA AMCOS NZ ROYALTY DISTRIBUTIONS

In an effort to get money into the hands of members as urgently as possible, APRA are bringing the Performance Report royalty distribution forward from November to May. Any members who have played live between July 2019 and April 2020 need to get in touch with the member services team to discuss what they need to do before April 9.

Please read further info here.

Also if you haven’t lodged a performance report for performances in previous years (up to three years prior), you should get in touch with member services to file a retrospective report, so you can get those royalty $$. International distributions will continue to happen monthly, and all other royalty distributions will continue to happen quarterly. APRA are also looking a new ways to do workshops and seminars in an online environment, and will have more details about these opportunities in coming weeks.

AWARDS

Congratulations to Shona Laing, who has been announced as the very deserving recipient of the 2020 Taite Music Prize Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award for her wonderful 1987 album ‘South’, which includes the seminal track (Glad I’m) Not A Kennedy.

Shona will receive the award at the Taite Music Prize ceremony, alongside the winners of the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut, and the Taite Music Prize.

This ceremony was due to take place in April, but is being reimagined for current circumstances, with a new date and venue to be confirmed soon.

Also, while the upcoming Pacific Music Awards, NZ Children’s Music Awards, NZ Country Music Awards, and NZ Jazz Awards have all been affected by the Covid-19 restrictions, it’s still very important that songwriters and artists are celebrated for their work, and there are plans for all of them to take place in a yet to be confirmed online form, and dates will be announced as plans are finalised.

I LOST MY GIG NZ

We've had nearly 600 responses to the I Lost My Gig NZ survey so far, totalling around $8.9million in lost income, but we know there are plenty more of you out there who may not have heard about the survey, or perhaps not gotten around to filling it out yet - please do!

It's very helpful for the music industry organisations to get a greater picture of the scale of loss in the NZ music community, and to be able to use this information to advocate to government for support.

LOCKDOWN LIVE

‘Lockdown Live’ – a new weekly live streaming initiative to support emerging New Zealand musicians - will be launched next Wednesday, April 8.
 
The ‘Lockdown Live’ line-up will be curated by NicNaK Media and each Wednesday night, three local acts will perform live via Instagram from 8pm to 8:30pm. The first week’s line-up features Christchurch pop act ASHY; Christchurch duo Dillastrate and Auckland-based singer-songwriter Harry Parsons.
 
Each artist/act will perform for 10 minutes, streamed live from their own Instagram accounts. With New Zealand currently in lock-down, many musicians are not in the same ‘bubble’ as band members and/or producers, so each act will tailor their performances accordingly.  
 
The New Zealand music industry has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and we are looking to local media and fellow music-related businesses to support initiatives such as this and the artists involved. Although ‘Lockdown Live’ is being organised and curated by NicNak Media, we are extending the invite to all emerging New Zealand acts (regardless of whether they work with NicNak Media or not). Our hope is that this will give artists the much-needed boost to continue performing live for their fans and while doing so, gaining new fans and embracing new ways of reaching audiences.
 
If you are a Kiwi music worker who has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, visitMusicHelps. MusicHelps provides useful information and sources of support. There is also a dedicated Give A Little page for those who would like to donate towards MusicHelp’s work with Kiwi music people affected. Donate here. Or simply text 'Music' to 2448 to donate $3 to the MusicHelps emergency appeal.

The MusicHelps Wellbeing Service is a 24 hour helpline and a free professional counselling service for those experiencing emotional distress.
 
Make sure you follow ASHY, Dillastrate and Harry Parsons for the first ‘Lockdown Live’session on Wednesday, April 8. Please support and share!

If you are an artist and would like to take part in 'Lockdown Live' please contact NicNak Media here.

LIVE NATION AND VODAFONE ANNOUNCE LOUNGE JAMS

Live Nation and Vodafone New Zealand are bringing the joy of live music straight into your home with Lounge Jams, in support of MusicHelps - a registered charity that provides crisis relief and professional counselling services to directly affected Kiwi roadies, artists and music workers.

Taking place every Thursday at 7pm on Facebook for the next three weeks, the sessions will feature some of the biggest names in Kiwi music coming live from their home, to yours – starting this week with Tiki Taane.

Lounge Jams is happening to raise awareness of MusicHelps Live, the New Zealand music industry’s response to the devastation that has resulted from the many show cancellations due to the pandemic. In the past month, the live music industry has been wiped out and New Zealand musicians and those who work behind the scenes are facing an uncertain future. MusicHelpsLive is calling on those New Zealanders that can to help, visit www.musichelpslive.co.nz to make a donation or find other ways to support the live music industry.

Vodafone Lounge Jams

Tiki Taane – Thursday April 2, 7pm

Hollie Smith – Thursday April 9, 7pm

Dave Dobbyn – Thursday April 16, 7pm

Vodafone spokesperson: “The social distancing and self-isolation we are experiencing right now is extremely hard, and we wanted to find a way to bring everyone together through the power of live music.”

MusicHelps board chair and MusicHelpsLive spokesperson Campbell Smith says: “Even though we are apart this is an opportunity for Kiwis to stay connecting by listening to great music, and at the same time supporting some incredible musicians and the wider music industry through a difficult time."

Possibly one of the country's most well-known and diverse artists and producers, Tiki Taane is considered an influential element in the pioneering of New Zealand’s bass culture. First rising to prominence as a live engineer and front man of Salmonella Dub, Tiki is renowned as much for his powerful live performances as he is for the anthems he writes. Although affectionately known in NZ as ‘King of the Dubs’, Tiki’s musical influences and appeal are broad, traversing from dubstep, reggae, drum n bass and hip-hop, to more contemporary pop/rock sensibilities. No matter the set he performs, the audience is always reminded of the sheer power of Tiki’s ability to unify, warm and wow as he seamlessly delivers a unique performance experience.

Hollie Smith is a prolific hardworking singer, songwriter, and performer who has always maintained a highly respected reputation of creating music with the utmost integrity and passion. Her incredible live performances and powerhouse vocals have made her one of the most sought-after acts in the New Zealand music industry. After the success of her performance on Don McGlashan’s song Bathe in The River which showcased Hollie’s soulful talent, she has spent over a decade cementing herself as one of New Zealand’s most iconic and top artists.