Mandatory Artist Creation Fee Announced As Part Of In-depth NZ On Air Music Review

NZ On Air is refining its music funding approach to ensure homegrown musicians will receive an Artist Creation Fee on top of each New Music funding grant to create their music.

The change comes after a newly released and in-depth review of NZ On Air's music funding, conducted by award-winning composer, performer and music producer Victoria Kelly, highlighted that career and financial sustainability is a huge challenge for artists in Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2020, NZ On Air introduced a 10 percent Artist Creation Fee to its New Music funding streams.

“However, this was optional and part of the total funding approved,” says Teresa Patterson, NZ On Air Head of Music. “Now, from January 2024, the Artist Creation Fee will be added on top of each New Music funding grant and it will be mandatory.”

The Review of NZ On Air’s Music Funding was conducted over a six-month period and interviewed a wide cross section of music professionals from across the industry – from artists, producers, managers, publicists and educators to journalists, radio programmers, record labels and music publishers.

"The NZ On Air Music Review was commissioned to ensure we had wide-ranging input from across the industry, taking all their viewpoints into consideration, so we were able to provide a comprehensive snapshot of where the music industry in Aotearoa New Zealand is at in 2023 – and then examine closely the role and efficacy of our NZ On Air music funding initiatives within that,” says Patterson.

“Ultimately, we wanted to really understand the challenges the industry faces both here at home and globally. The depth and breadth of this review is exceptional, resulting in a number of insights and potential solutions that we can work towards.”

NZ On Air has considered all the recommendations within the Review and produced a document to respond to each of those recommendations.

“It was really encouraging to see that many of the recommendations are ideas that we had already either been undertaking or considering as part of the wider NZ On Air Investment Strategy that we released earlier this year,” says Patterson.

“Our plan from here is to work towards implementing or further exploring those recommendations that we have not yet employed. Some of those recommendations will require further collaboration and engagement with the wider sector.”

The recommendations from the Review of NZ On Air’s Music Funding include the need to adjust current funding, drawdowns and contracts to allow for greater agility, flexibility and fairness for applicants and recipients; to increase opportunities for capacity building; to consider how NZ On Air could support export opportunities as a way to help artists better access their audiences, contribute to career sustainability and build global pathways for their music; ensure safety and equity to create a safer industry; and to look at more opportunities to work collaboratively across the music industry.

Any resulting changes will be implemented in the 2024/2025 financial year.
 

The Review of NZ On Air’s Music Funding and NZ On Air Response document can be found here and on the Research section of the NZ On Air website.

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