by Hon Judith Tizard, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

For the last seven years, May has been the month to celebrate, promote and enjoy New Zealand music.

Over that time, we have seen a real increase in the commercial success of New Zealand music. In May 2000 kiwi music made up 5.45% of sales; in May 2005 this figure had jumped to 28.71%.

It’s not just in May that we show our pride and support for New Zealand music: annual figures for local radio content have also continued to rise from 15% in 2002 to 19.29% in 2006. More good news, too, with the radio industry pledging to maintain the targeted level of kiwi music at 20% for the next five years. This will ensure that New Zealand audiences continue to hear a good amount of locally produced music, and that our musicians and bands continue to get valuable airplay throughout the year.

But it’s not just the success of New Zealand music that I want to talk about; it’s not only commercial music we are celebrating. It’s the shifting face of New Zealand music - a shift that reflects the changing and increasingly diverse face of New Zealand society.

As a country we are developing a growing appreciation of and appetite for the music and culture of all of our communities and we are seeing an increasing number of events that present a wonderful variety of musical experiences.

So far this year we have seen celebrations of Maori, Pacific and Asian music and culture through festivals and awards.

In February this year I was lucky enough to launch the Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington. This eight-day event presented no less than 20 concerts featuring around 100 compositions from the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The festival presents an extraordinary range of traditional and contemporary performances and provides a tantalising taste of the wide and varied music in our region of the globe.

As the New Zealand population grows and diversifies, festivals like this provide vital opportunities to learn about and celebrate the different cultural communities in New Zealand today - communities that are growing rapidly. Take for example the Asian population, which grew from 238,176 to 354,552 - an increase of almost 50 percent between 2001 and 2006.

Another important date on the music calendar is the 3rd annual Pacific Music Awards on Thursday this week. The awards demonstrate the healthy state of the Pacific music industry in New Zealand and highlight the essential role it plays in defining our culture and national identity.

Over the last half century our Pacific community has flourished, and Pacific people now make up a substantial proportion of our population. Pacific artists are at the very forefront of the New Zealand music renaissance.

It is commonly recognised that New Zealand is a multi-cultural country coming from a bi-cultural base. In February I also unveiled the categories for the inaugural Maori Music Awards to be held in 2008. The event also honoured Maori music icons such as Sir Howard Morrison, composer Tommy Taurima, the late Prince Tui Teka and husband and wife team Ngapo (Bub) and Pimia Wehi from kapa haka group Te Waka Huia.

Spearheaded by Te Matatini, the organisation responsible for developing Maori performing arts nationwide, the awards will celebrate and recognise Maori composers and the contribution they make to the New Zealand music industry. The launch of the Maori Music Awards is a way of recognising music and culture by celebrating Maori composers.

Another area of change has been the way that New Zealanders ‘consume’ their music. Tuesday 29 May saw the first Official New Zealand Music Chart to include digital downloads from New Zealand’s legal digital music retailers. Until now, the charts have been compiled each week from physical music sales and radio play.

The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) says that now the market has established a strong digital sales base, the changes are necessary to ensure the charts continue to reflect how New Zealanders are buying their music.

In March 2007 Opshop became the first New Zealand band to achieve the position of #1 on the itunes chart with their single “Maybe”, and they are signed to an independent label no less.

The changes to the Official New Zealand Music Chart will see an increased recognition of digital success.

The New Zealand Music Industry as a whole will have to wait until October for the opportunity to celebrate success across the spectrum of contemporary music. The 2007 awards will be the 42nd New Zealand Music Awards. We’ve been celebrating our musical success for a long time, and this is something I look forward to continuing to do!

But it is clear that the last few years have been an extraordinary period of development for New Zealand’s music industry, driven by the vision and commitment of so many people involved in creating, recording, broadcasting and promoting local music. Simply, the industry has moved to a whole new level and will, I am sure, continue to rise to new challenges.

For more on NZ Music Month, check out New Zealand Music Commission and lovemusic.co.nz.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 6:32 pm and is filed under National identity, Guest blogger - Judith Tizard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.