Support for contemporary music reaps rewards

IFACCA/Artshub, 22 May 2002,New Zealand

National arts development agency Creative New Zealand is patting itself on the back following the recent announcement of winners in the 2002 New Zealand Music Awards.

While Creative itself didn’t win anything, artists that the organisation has supported with funding over the years did shine on the night. Vocalist Che Fu, for instance, took the awards for Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Best Music Video and Best R&B/Hip Hop Album; other artists winning Tui Awards included Andrew Spraggon/Sola Rosa (Best Electronica Album), Greg Johnson, the Topp Twins, C L Bob, and Fatcat and Fishface (Best Children’s Album).

Although Fu, in particular, is now an established part of the country’s musical life, he commented recently that he remembers how, in 1997, a Creative grant of NZ$12,000 allowed him to record his debut solo album, 2 b S.Pacific, after a recording company had pulled the plug.

The album went on to collect gold and platinum sales, was named Rip It Up magazine’s number two New Zealand album of the century, and won Fu both the Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year trophies at the 1998 New Zealand Music Awards.

‘The Creative New Zealand grant was a lifeline when we really didn’t have many options,’ commented Fu’s Manager Richard Lose, in a recent media statement. ‘It enabled Che to make the album he wanted to make.’

Creative’s Music Advisor Jeremy Winter affirmed that, despite perceptions to the contrary, approximately half of the organisation’s music project funding now goes toward the support of contemporary work. ‘We’re about supporting the creation, development and presentation of high-quality music that’s also original and innovative,’ he says, also noting that distinctions between the traditional categories of ‘popular’ and ‘classical’ are becoming increasingly blurred.

Meanwhile, it seems that New Zealand music itself is undergoing somewhat of a growth in popularity. Local industry player Murray Cammick, founder of Rip It Up and Wildside Records, commented that contemporary artists last year did ‘alright’ commercially – reaching 11.24% of commercial airplay by the end of 2001 – but considerably better critically.

When asked to name their favourite albums of 2001, he says, New Zealand Herald music writers chose 40% local releases, while Rip It Up’s score was just below 24%, a dead heat with that of Evening Post critics.

According to Creative’s figures, local music content on commercial radio was less than two percent in 1995, but by the March 2002 quarter, this had increased to more than 13%. ‘I believe this renaissance has been fuelled by commercial radio,’ says NZ On Air’s New Zealand Music Manager, Brendan Smyth, ‘Since 1995, there’s been a six-fold increase in New Zealand music on air, which means that more New Zealanders are hearing more [local] music than ever before.’

Further information regarding Creative New Zealand and its programs is available online at: www.creativenz.govt.nz

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