In the new episode of Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw takes Anna Coddington out to road test songs from her new album Beams. Along the way the kōrero moves from te reo journeys to sexism in the music industry. Anna Coddington’s song ‘Night Class’ describes a uniquely Māori experience – taking night classes in … Read more
Women and non-binary people in the music industry have spoken out about how cis-gendered men can make their jobs safer. Content warning: sexual assault, harassment and discrimination. *Some names have been changed. Yesterday an open letter penned by musician Anna Coddington (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) was made public amid the fallout of Alison Mau’s exposé for … Read more
‘Mapping Auckland’s Venues’ is a series by music writer and historian Gareth Shute that looks at the growth, contraction and general change in the city’s live music scene over the years. In this instalment, first published by Audioculture, Shute takes a look back at the decade where ‘Think Big’ applied just as much to shoulder pads … Read more
Over lockdown, a small team of music industry professionals have become emergency response workers. Josie Adams visited Spark Arena to meet them. Behind Spark Arena is a line of shipping containers filled with food and hygiene products. “Only a few months ago this was filled with Tool’s stuff,” said Tom Anderson, a coordinator of Auckland … Read more
February 2020 is never coming back. In part one of a two part series, Duncan Greive looks at which industries will be smashed post-lockdown – and how elimination might provide unexpected opportunities to recover. As we turn to face the end of lockdown, the precise shape of which is necessarily still being determined, there’s an … Read more
Rohan Hill and Ian Jorgensen are having so much fun running their boutique audio equipment firm that no amount of money could make them sell. Wellington electronics manufacturer Synthstrom Audible can only just keep up with demand for its flagship product. Engineer and musician Rohan Hill developed the portable Deluge synth/sequencer/sampler – “in my bedroom, … Read more
After years of watching its income dwindle as it transitioned into the digital age the New Zealand music industry has turned a significant corner. Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Damian Vaughan is cock-a-hoop that the wallets of the artists and labels he represents are looking a lot fatter. The doom and gloom that had hung … Read more
As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with musician and audio engineer Jana Whitta. Jana Whitta (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a local audio engineering/music community overachiever who has seen and literally heard it all. Her journey in music has taken her from a teen … Read more
A new report from Recorded Music NZ shows two years of growing revenues after 15 years of decline. But not everyone is convinced the news is as good as it seems. New figures released by Recorded Music NZ show that in 2016, the New Zealand music industry increased by 16% to $86 million, up from … Read more
The year is 2001 and the music business is under existential threat from the latest teen craze: CD bootlegging. Its response involved draconian fines, an embarrassing txt-speak slogan and Dave Dobbyn made up to look like a burns victim. Robyn Gallagher explains. Cast your mind back 15 years ago, before the age of streaming and … Read more