NZ ON AIR NEW MUSIC DEVELOPMENT FUND

NZ On Air is pleased to announce a new funding initiative to support the development of new songs from emerging artists in collaboration with Aotearoa's music producers.  

New Music Development funding will subsidise the costs of production, songwriting and studio time to craft new songs and bodies of work. Experienced local music producers will have the chance to collaborate, produce, co-write and record new music repertoire from promising emerging artists. The new scheme has been devised through extensive industry consultation from experienced NZ-based international music producer Greg Haver.
 
The first round of New Music Development opens on 1 October (today) and will take applications from experienced producers intending to work with emerging New Zealand artists to develop a body work, delivering a minimum of three finished song demos. Grants up to $10,000 (+GST) are available for each development project.
The application deadline is Thursday 22 October. 
 
The guidelines for the October round can be found here. An FAQ on the New Music Development scheme can be found here. 

Parachute Producer Development 2021

Applications for Parachute Music’s 2021 Parachute Development programme are now open.

Responding to a need for industry pathways for emerging producers, the organisation launched the programme this year. Based out of Parachute’s Kingsland studios, the Producer Development programme sees up to 6 high potential young producers spending an intensive year upskilling in studio and being mentored by industry pros.  They will also collaborate with Parachute development artists and others from the in house artist community.
Their 2020 intake included Harry Charles, Carly Gill (Carlö), Christian Tjandrawinata, Parachute Artist Development alumni Jen Turner, and Sophie Bialostocki (Lévyne).
Parachute is now looking for their 2021 intake, seeking up to six young producers between 18-28 years of age for the annual programme. For more details, to apply, and for a detailed overview, head to parachutemusic.com/producer-development. 
Applications are open until October 31st, with the programme kicking off February 2021
Interested applicants can meet the team, find out more about the programme, and check out the studios at Parachute’s Producer Development open day:
Parachute Producer Development Open DayMonday October 19th4pm - 6pmParachute Music, 399 New North Road, Kingsland (Entrance around the back at basement level)
With thanks to the New Zealand Music Commission, Recorded Music NZ. Longview Trust and Creative New Zealand for their support.

Note: A selection of photos attached:

• Producer development Christian Tjandriwinata with development artist Kyla Greening

• Carly Gill with Possum Plows

• Harry Charles

• Jen Turner with development artist Lisa Hawkins 

• Sophie Bialostocki with producer mentor Simon Gooding

ANNOUNCING THE AOTEAROA MUSIC AWARDS

Sunday 15th November
New branding and spirit for New Zealand’s flagship music awards

Today marks the launch of the Aotearoa Music Awards, introducing a new era for Recorded Music New Zealand’s annual music awards.

Developed by creative agency LIKEMINDS in collaboration with specialist Māori concept and creative studio HAUMI, the Aotearoa Music Awards reinterpret what it means to be a Kiwi musician and artist.

Recorded Music NZ Kaiwhakahaere o Ngā Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa Sarah Owen says the decision to rebrand the awards aligns with continued efforts over the years to recognise Aotearoa’s tangata whenua and Te Reo Māori as the first language of New Zealand, as well as the importance of Te Ao Māori in our lives.

“Aotearoa is a land of diversity and stories, evoking people to share their experiences with us through music. Our artists are kaihanga of one of our greatest treasures – the music and songs that defines our lives,” says Owen.

“With the renaming to Aotearoa Music Awards and the kaupapa behind that, we are taking another step in bringing the awards back to the core of what they’re for: to celebrate, support and encourage the creative journeys of all our recording artists.”

LIKEMINDS founder and creative director Damian Alexander says the Aotearoa Music Awards acronym “AMA” (pronounced ah-mah) is an intentional reference to Te Ao Māori. We are embedding and acknowledging the indigenous culture of Aotearoa and the environment from where our musicians can flourish and prosper.

“An ama is the outrigger used to support waka during voyages across the ocean. In the same way, that Recorded Music NZ and the Aotearoa Music Awards support and celebrate New Zealand musicians and their work, as well as the support of the wider creative industry in Aotearoa,” says Alexander.

“We worked with Tiki Taane and Laughton Kora to create a bespoke musical score for the rebrand to bring the awards firmly back to the true resonance of this place we call home.”

Special 2020 show format

In addition to the new name and identity, the format of this year's event will reflect the importance of music and the wider community in times like these.

Hosted by The Project’s Jesse Mulligan and The Edge Afternoon hosts Sharyn Casey and Jayden King, the three and a half hour spectacle will feature 18 intimate performances from some of our most beloved musicians.

In addition to the 20 Tui awarded on the night, multiple inductees will be welcomed into the NZ Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa - honouring and celebrating our beloved musicians, past and present.

Recorded Music NZ CEO Damian Vaughan is pleased to announce the event will also be taking on a new form this year, with a renewed focus on the musicians and their craft.

“This November, we intend to not only honour and celebrate the spectacular music released over the past year but also highlight the incredible and important work of many of the individuals, organisations and initiatives throughout Aotearoa that are using music to unite and heal communities.

“We are honoured to shine a light on many of these organisations and their activities including our long-time awards charity partner MusicHelps, but also others such as Crescendo, Raukatauri and Girls Rock Camp who are using music to help our music whanau and heal our communities in this time of uncertainty.”

“The inaugural Aotearoa Music Awards will be an intimate reflection and celebration of the year that was and tell the stories of how our music community has navigated this unique and challenging year.”

The finalists and performers for the Aotearoa Music Awards will be announced on Thursday 8 October. The event will be taking place Sunday 15 November at Spark Arena and will be broadcast live on Edge TV & THREE.

Thanks to our sponsors NZ On Air, Te Mangai Paho, THREE, The Edge, Spotify, Hallertau, Young & Co, SkyCity, and GHD.

RDU 98.5FM Presents ZORZA

15 Incredible Acts, 3 Iconic Venues, 1 Big Party 
 

On Thursday 12th November, RDU 98.5 FM presents Zorza. For one night only, Zorza brings St Asaph Street to life! 12 Bar, Darkroom & Space Academy will play host to a field of grassroots musicians from Ōtautahi and Aotearoa. 

As pandemic rages around the world, we need the alchemy of local music, local hospitality and our local people to distract us, entertain us, connect us and provide a platform for the industry to flourish.

Entry gives the ticket holder the ability to move through multiple venues on the night, exploring different genres, tempos and mind-melting sonics. 
 

Fifteen New Zealand acts will be performing at Zorza including:

Hot Donnas, Juno Is, Koizilla, Vincent H.L, Head full of Snakes, Internet Death, Liam K. Swiggs, Lucy Hunter, Marsha, Model Home, Mousey, Nervous Jerk, The Transistors, Too Woke for Toast & Toyota. 

 With support from Three Boys Brewery, PALS, C4 Coffee & Ecochem

With thanks to ROCKSHOP, PHANTOM, COSMIC TICKETING & NZ ON AIR
 

For media enquiries please contact Kendra Walls RDU 98.5FM via
admin@rdu.org.nz 

Apply Now for Girls Rock! Tāmaki Makaurau 2021

E te tī, e te tā, kua tae te rā whakapuaki o te hui Tāmaki Makaurau 2021!

Applications are open right now!
For mentors & volunteers, campers and interns,
find out more at our website.
 

Girls Rock! Tāmaki Makaurau has been helping young women, transgender and gender-non-conforming youth form bands, build instrumental skills, and write original songs since 2018, and now our 2021 program is set to be bigger than ever.

Held Monday 18 January to Saturday 23 January 2021, Girls Rock! is open to youth aged 12-17 years who are women, and/or intersex, transgender, or gender non-conforming. They’ll learn instruments, form bands, write original songs, and perform at a showcase, all guided by professional musicians in a women-led environment. Alongside collaborative learning, participants will take part in workshops about DIY merchandise, mindfulness, and performance skills. Each day they’ll enjoy lunchtime performances from local artists: the 2020 camp included performances by Paige, CHAII, Fazerdaze, and Nothing But Hole.

For 2021, SAE Creative Media Institute Auckland has partnered with Girls Rock! as our new key sponsor and will be hosting Girls Rock! Tāmaki Makaurau at their SAE Auckland campus, allowing the program access to their state of the art recording studios and equipment. 

New Electronic Stream

Thanks to SAE’s generous support, Girls Rock! is able to offer a new 'electronic stream' for our upcoming program. Following the success of Girls Rock! Pōneke's Ableton and Soundtrap workshops, this stream will teach skills in digital music recording, composition, and production, bringing the sounds of hip hop, house, and electronic pop to Girls Rock! Tāmaki Makaurau. With women making up just 5% to 7% of audio engineers and producers, according to reports by the Audio Engineering Society, Girls Rock’s new electronic stream and partnership with SAE addresses an important imbalance in NZ music.
 

Intern Program
2021 also sees Girls Rock! Tāmaki Makaurau expanding our intern program; an important bridge between being a Girls Rock! participant to becoming a Girls Rock! mentor. Interns will develop leadership skills, attend industry workshops, assist with activities and gear setup, and shadow Girls Rock! staff and mentors. This is an exciting opportunity for women, trans, and gender non-conforming young adults aged 16 to 19 to act as role models and become a part of the Girls Rock! community.

APRA TAKE THE SILVER SCROLL AWARDS ONLINE!

We're writing today with an update and some significant news about the 2020 Silver Scroll Awards ceremony. After much discussion, contemplation, and reflection across the organisation, we feel the level of uncertainty in proceeding with a live event with an invited audience at the Auckland Town Hall, and the investment that requires is just too great at the moment.

So unfortunately we have to cancel the plans we had made to hold a live event for members at the Auckland Town Hall on Weds Oct 14. We absolutely understand this will be very disappointing to many – particularly to our finalists. The Silver Scroll Awards are not only a celebration of the wonderful songs and works that have been released, but also an opportunity for our community to gather together and see old friends or make new ones. We definitely wish circumstances were different. However, we are going to take the awards into the digital realm, and hopefully create something which really showcases the amazing work of Aotearoa's songwriters, that everyone can enjoy in the online world. This will include the incredible (but top secret) live performances that our Music Director Julia Deans has been planning.  The exact timing of the ‘digital ceremony/broadcast’ is something we’re still working through, but we’ll announce that as soon as we can. In the mean time, we want you to know that APRA continues to offer our support and enthusiasm for all of the many live shows and tours that are planned in the coming months. We know how tough it has been for so many of you, to deal with the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, particularly in the effect on live shows. We have great respect for you all continuing to postpone, re-group, and move forward, despite the uncertainty. The APRA AMCOS team are huge live music fans, and we are super keen to get back into all these wonderful live experiences with you as soon as we can. Thank you again for your patience and understanding, and for continuing to make such great songs and compositions.  Kia kaha.
PS. We're very grateful to have the support of Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air for the 2020 Silver Scroll Awards

ANNOUNCING NEW REO MĀORI SONGHUBS PROGRAM - APPLICATIONS OPEN

Apra are delighted to announce that applications are now open for our new Reo Māori SongHubs Program 2020, and will close at 5pm on Monday 28 September.

Reo Māori SongHubs Waimārama 2020

When: Monday 16 November to Friday 20 November
Where: Waimārama Marae in Hawkes BayWhat: Reo Māori SongHubs is a collaborative songwriting wānanga presented by APRA AMCOS with the generous support of Te Māngai Pāho. Reo Māori SongHubs brings together experts in music creation and waiata reo Māori to collaborate with a mixture of our best and brightest songwriters, artists and producers.

The curator of the program will be Aotearoa's own superstar/producer/collaborator Joel Little, while pre-eminent mātanga reo/language specialist and songwriter Sir Tīmoti Kāretu will be the reo curator. Four other mātanga reo/songwriters Pānia Papa, Leon Te Heketū Blake, Kingi Kiriona and Jeremy Tātere MacLeod will guide and assist with the sessions.  

How SongHubs works:
Reo Māori SongHubs is a week long program held at Waimārama Marae in Hawkes Bay. Each day you will be assigned a different group to write a song with. This group will consist of a producer/engineer, a Māori language consultant/mātanga reo (see more details below), a ‘lead’ songwriter (for whom you are writing a song), and one other songwriter. These groups will each inhabit a separate space for the day.  
Each songwriter will get the opportunity to be a 'lead' songwriter at least once, and will work with different producers and mātanga reo across the week. 

Eligibility criteria:

You are eligible to apply for Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 if:

• You are an elected Full Writer Member of APRA

• You are either a) able to demonstrate commercial success or a strong track record of audience and industry support within the past two years OR b) have a manager, record company, or music publisher, supporting your career

• You have a recording scheduled for release during the 12 months following Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 and a clear plan for its dissemination

• You are keen and willing to collaborate with other artists, songwriters and producers

• You are willing to be photographed and filmed throughout the Reo Māori SongHubs program for APRA's promotional purposes

• You are willing to make yourself available for media relating to Reo Māori SongHubs 2020, and for your image and biography to be used in association with this and future SongHubs events

• You are available for the FULL duration of Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 including the pōwhiri at Waimārama Marae on Monday 16 November at 11am to Friday 20 November available daily from 9.30am to 8pm, departing on Saturday 21 November

• You are a student or speaker of te reo Māori

We are offering the following positions for Reo Māori SongHubs 2020

- 4 producers/engineers  
- 8 songwriters 
 
Travel, accommodation and meals will be provided.  

Please fill out the application to be considered for one of these positions.

HE WHAKAPĀOHOTANGA TĒNEI NĀ APRA MŌ ‘TE TOHU MAIOHA’ 2020 ME NGĀ RĀRANGI WHIRINGA TOA | ANNOUNCING THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2020 APRA MAIOHA AWARD

The APRA Maioha Award recognises the art of contemporary Māori songwriting and honours composers who are telling their stories in the language of Te Ao Māori.

• Ka Mānu by Rob Ruha, performed by Bella Kalolo, Maisey Rika, Majic, Ria Hall, Rob Ruha, Seth Haapu, Troy Kingi, and The Witch Dr

• Ūkaipō by Seth Haapu

• Whāia by Pere Wihongi, Meto-Tagivale Schmidt-Peke, Hoeata Maxwell-Blake, Awatea Wihongi, Te Kaaterama Pou, Mereana Teka, Raniera Blake, Puawai Taiapa, Nathaniel Howe, and Tawaroa Kawana, and performed by Maimoa

Rob Ruha (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Rongowhakaata, Tainui, Te Arawa, Ngā Ariki-kaipūtahi, Ngā Puhi) has been a finalist multiple times, and won the Maioha Award first in 2014, and again in 2016. This year he returns with Ka Mānu – a waiata written in response to the dispute around Ihumātao, speaking of unity and peaceful resistance, and highlighting the issues of oppression for indigenous people around the world. In continuing the theme of unity, the song brings together musicians from across Aotearoa for a stirring performance full of aroha and hope.

Also a former finalist, Seth Haapu’s smooth and tender style is once again commended with his new work Ūkaipō. It’s a powerful ballad examining the origins of life, and exploring the path of awakening, reclamation, and restoration of identity. The track pairs his lush vocals with memorable piano melodies and captivating rhythmic percussion, and draws influence from Haapu’s own Māori and Polynesian heritage.

Bringing together ten musicians, Maimoa is a collective of young Māori music artists who first made headlines in 2015 when they knocked off Justin Timberlake from the number spot on the iTunes NZ Charts, and went number 2 on the New Zealand Charts. This year they’re finalists for their waiata Whāia, from their recently released album Rongomaiwhiti. It’s a proud pop song that encourages everyone to embrace their unique qualities and celebrate their identity – an objective which permeates Waiata Nation, the series that follows the members in their creative pursuits.

The judges for the 2020 APRA Maioha Award were: Matai Rangi Smith, Ngatapa Black, Tama Waipara, and Toni Huata.

You can watch past Maioha Award performances and presentations HERE.

The awards are proudly supported by NZ On Air and Te Mangai Paho.