From the same song sheet
Photo: Gerard O'Brien
Choir!Choir!, a musical group made up of residents of the Otago Peninsula, hit the high notes during a performance at the Otago Museum on Saturday as part of New Zealand Music Month.
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RNZ News
27-05-2025
- RNZ News
Discovering new NZ music in the streaming age is getting harder – what's the future for local artists?
By Oli Wilson, Catherine Hoad, Dave Carter and Jesse Austin-Stewart* of Kiwi artist Tiki Taane performs at the Eletric Avenue fstival in Christchurch in February 2024. Photo: Electric Avenue / Team Event New Zealand Music Month turned 25 this year, and there's been plenty to celebrate - whether it be Mokotron's Taite Prize-winning 'Waerea', Lorde's recent return (though not to New Zealand - yet), or the fact that live performance revenues post-Covid have been strong. But for new and emerging local artists, Music Month also highlights a lack of visibility on streaming services and commercial radio, which increasingly favour already famous artists, including ones whose heydays were decades ago. During a month when music fans have been encouraged to stream local, see local and buy local, so far the only homegrown artists to appear in this week's New Zealand Top 40 Singles chart are Lorde and K-pop star Rosé. Recently published data shows that as little as 9 percent of New Zealand streaming, downloads and physical sales revenue is going to local artists. Despite this, according to NZ on Air, 49 percent of New Zealanders stream music every day. In fact streaming has recently surpassed radio as the main way audiences discover new music, with growing influence from TikTok and Instagram. On Spotify, which approximately one in three New Zealanders use every day, only one local track - Corella's 'Blue Eyed Māori' - featured in the 2024 top-50 year-end local playlist. Streaming increasingly privileges and skews towards established releases from well-known artists, and other artists have little control over social media algorithms. While radio remains relevant, with 46 percent of New Zealanders listening daily, only two nationwide commercial radio stations played more than 20 percent local music in 2024. Tom Scott of Home Brew performing at the Electric Abvenue festival in Christchurch. Photo: Nick Paulsen The Official Aotearoa Music Charts' End of Year Top 50 Singles provide another useful indication of local music market share. These charts draw on a wide range of sales and streaming data, and aim to provide an authoritative snapshot of what New Zealanders were buying and listening to in that year. Since Covid, we have seen a sharp decline in local artists featuring in these charts. In 2024, the only New Zealander to feature was Corella's 'Blue Eyed Māori', and only four New Zealand albums featured in the End of Year Top 50 Albums, three of which were compilations primarily made up of earlier releases. Corella and Gracie Moller. Photo: TAHI While Covid lockdowns and border closures hugely disrupted the live music sector, we also saw audiences engaging with a lot more local music. Summer festival Rhythm and Vines sold out an all Kiwi lineup, and the amount of local music on radio reached its highest peak since records began. This suggests visibility, discoverability and chart success have little to do with the amount or quality of local music being produced. Instead, they are the result of structural changes in the music industries. Internationally, this has been linked to the market consolidation and dominance of a small number of big players at the expense of local artists, industry and infrastructure. Lorde performs with Charli XCX at Coachella 2025 last month. Photo: Screenshot / Coachella / YouTube As global platforms such as Spotify and TikTok have increased their influence on audiences' ability to discover New Zealand's music, it's hard to see a future where business-as-usual will improve the situation for local artists and audiences. There are potential solutions, however. Australia has committed to imposing local content quotas on international streamers, and Canada has instituted a revenue sharing system between global streamers and broadcasters. Unlike similar markets, such as Australia and Norway, New Zealand lacks a strong public youth broadcaster. Dedicated investment in this area could help support targeted strategies to promote local music. Changes in the way local music is funded and nurtured could also help. The government currently funds NZ on Air and the Music Commission, but they have different objectives and obligations. Merging them might streamline decision making and recognise the interconnectedness of the live and recorded music sectors. If steps aren't taken soon, New Zealand will struggle to support a thriving local music economy, and New Zealanders will continue to miss out on hearing themselves in the music they listen to. With Music Month drawing to a close, there needs to be a commitment to structural changes that, over time, will see the development of a year-round celebration of New Zealand music. *Oli Wilson is Professor & Associate Dean Research, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Catherine Hoad is Senior Lecturer in Critical Popular Music Studies, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Dave Carter is Associate Professor, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Jesse Austen-Stewart is Lecturer, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University. This article was first published by The Conversation .
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Jordan Luck Band rocks Gisborne, honours Smash Palace founder
Walsh played tracks including his Ekko Park hit Probable Cause — Ekko Park also features the Jordan Luck Band's Bryan Bell — as well as 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins, and fittingly, Heavenly Pop Hit by The Chills in honour of New Zealand Music Month. After Walsh's set, Luck took the stage, kicking things off with Social Life and Airway Spies from the Dance Exponents' first album, Prayers Be Answered, and the newer Can I Help You? from the Jordan Luck Band's Not Only ... But Also. Luck's extensive songbook was a major drawcard — I've been a fan since childhood in the 1990s. The crowd sang along to Who Loves Who The Most, with Luck dedicating the night to Monteith: 'Tonight, we love Darryl the most'. The band also paid homage to other Kiwi greats, covering Forever Tuesday Morning by 'evil rivals' The Mockers, April Sun in Cuba by Dragon, and Blue Lady, written by the late Graham Brazier of Hello Sailor — with the stage lights turning blue for the moment. Bell took the mic to perform his hit I Want to Know from his band, the Dead Flowers, sharing the story behind the song and his memories of Monteith. Of course, no Jordan Luck show would be complete without Victoria, the band's breakthrough hit, which Luck said he first played in Gisborne in the early 1980s while touring with the Screaming Meemees. Other fan favourites included Whatever Happened To Tracey and Why Does Love Do This To Me. 'Gisborne, we love you!' Luck shouted — and everyone there knew it was true. Till the next time, we're lucky enough to see them in Gisborne — I'll definitely be there. It was unforgettable seeing them at Smash Palace for the first time. As a long-time Kiwi music fan new to the area, this was a night to remember.
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Scoop
NLC Drops Soulful Te Reo Māori Single For NZ Music Month
Award-winning New Zealand reggae band NLC is about to drop a new single just in time for the final week of New Zealand Music Month. The Whanganui-based musicians are well known for their fusion of reggae with elements of soul and dub woven with te reo Māori and English. Their latest offering goes one step further; an original song recorded totally in te reo Māori, called Ko au ko au. The song was written by NLC's lead singer Baz Muir and translated into te reo Māori by well-known television presenter and entertainer, Te Hāmua Nikora. Muir said the single is the band's fifth recorded waiata in te reo Māori and he's excited to be able to finally share it during NZ Music Month 2025. He said Ko au ko au is a song about "living in a silent life'. 'It's a thought-provoking song that touches on those times in your life when you feel that you can't speak about all of the challenges you might be facing. 'It's about encouraging people to make a change, to have the courage to speak about their insecurities. 'We want this song to help people understand that speaking to others can help them find their identity. After all, everyone has their own special identity that makes them unique.' The new song was made with the support of NZ On Air and is being released on May 26, 2025. It will be a stand-out feature among the group's impressive catalogue of work produced over the past decade.
