NZ Music Month is a promotion run by the NZ Music Commission that takes place each May, with other organisations including NZ On Air, RIANZ, APRA, Independent Music NZ, and the Radio Broadcasters Association also closely involved. And obviously NZ Music Month could not succeed without the support of the country's labels, media, the general public, and, most importantly, the artists themselves.
Firmly entrenched as part of our cultural landscape, over the course of the last decade the month of May has gone from a period of encouraging radio to play more local tunes to a thirty one day celebration of homegrown talent across the length and breadth of the country.
While we’re excited about hitting double figures and are already thinking about a nice birthday cake to celebrate, here at NZ Music Month HQ everyone can still remember back to when it all kicked off. There was plenty of great music being made but not enough people got to hear it, see it, or have it on their shelves (let alone know what an mp3 actually was) and it is awesome to see how far things have come.
With Kiwi music of so many different kinds blazing through the airwaves, soaring off stages, and rumbling out of ludicrously lowered cars at the lights these days it is hard to fathom why things weren’t like this earlier. Well, along with the vast amount of talented musicians responsible for the songs in the first place and the hardworking folks who support them professionally and personally, we’d like to think that NZ Music Month has played a part somewhere.
But 2010 isn’t about us, it’s about you. We want to help you get to great gigs, make new musical discoveries, and get excited about your faves from the past. With a bunch of new releases looming over the horizon, thousands of gigs around the country, and media of all kinds gearing up to get behind NZ Music Month you won’t be able to miss it. But why on earth would you?
Everyone here is quietly confident that May will be off to its biggest and best start yet with official launch gigs of all shapes and sizes taking place on May 1st. It’s a Saturday, after all, so there will be no excuse to avoid letting your hair down and getting amongst it. NZ Music Month will also be spreading the word about everything else that’s going on around Aotearoa, so stay tuned for our personal picks throughout May and dig deep into our comprehensive gig guide to find some gems that tickle your fancy.
So that’s it. NZ Music Month is almost ten and almost grown up – but nowhere near old and boring yet. Don’t just take our word for it though, you’ll see us popping up all over the place like the youngsters we still are. Catch you out there…