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Kia ora and welcome to our March newsletter,
We're almost at the end of another financial year. We've funded a remarkable range of content throughout the year and while that gives us much to celebrate, with only one funding round left, more tough decisions will have to be made. In order to help with your planning (and ours) please get in touch with the television or community broadcasting managers early if you are planning to apply to the June meeting.
We are really pleased to have just announced a new documentary fund in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Commission. The fund will support around five new long-form documentaries in the year ahead, to be screened in cinemas, on television and online.
In behind the scenes news, we are also intending to re-locate to the same building as the NZFC when our current lease expires. We already work closely with the NZFC in a number of areas and we will consider further initiatives once we settle in. The move will mean operational business as usual for us and for the BSA (with whom we'll continue to share a floor). We're hoping to sign a new lease shortly.
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Finally we are farewelling long-serving staffer Anita Roberts. Anita has been with NZ On Air since the early 1990s and has been Personal Assistant to all four Chief Executives, which of course is no mean feat (especially with me). She's looking at new pastures and we will miss Anita, her professional approach and her smile. After Easter, we are welcoming Nicky Andrew. Nicky will take up a new post as Executive Assistant to me, CFO Alan and Community Broadcasting Manager Keith. Nicky is relocating from Tauranga, where she's been the PA and governance administrator for Te Runanga O Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust. Cheers, Jane |
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New Zealand music content on the radio is holding up at just over 20% for the 2013 calendar year to date. According to RadioScope, it's 20.17% (as at 03 March). That's all radio including commercial, student and iwi. On commercial radio on its own, it's not so rosy (provisionally) 16.32% for the year to date. The most-played New Zealand song at the moment is Stan Walker's (pictured) Making Tracks-funded song Take It Easy from the movie Mt. Zion, which is not just the most-played New Zealand song, but the most played of all songs. At #2 is Opshop with Never Leave Me Again and at #3 is the phenomenon known as Lorde with Royals.
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After two months off, Making Tracks is back. The first funding round for the 2013 calendar year was February. We took in a record 215 applications and funded 23 projects, including new songs from old friends like The Phoenix Foundation and new songs from new friends like Wellington's Estère (pictured), who picked up her first NZ On Air grant. So far this financial year, we have taken in 799 applications and funded 146 projects (18%), of which 57% have been dubbed as suitable for the commercial broadcast media by the funding panels of the day, and 43% have been thought suitable for alternative broadcast media.
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| Photo by Clinton Cardozo |
Our new music discovery website, theaudience, run by Amplifier, continues to grow nicely, with solid increases in all key metrics. Website visits at the end of January (eight months after the launch of the site) were up to 392,962 (up from 289,927 in October) and the number of unique visitors was up to 155,571 (from 116,378 in October). Website page views were over the million mark at the end of January (up to 1,230,049).
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The third of our radio showcases for the 2012-2013 year is scheduled for 27 March. The invite-only showcases are held at Back Beat in Auckland. So far this year we have showcased Jamie McDell, The Wyld, the Jupiter Project, the resurrected Goodshirt , Aaradhna, Loui The Zu, and Five Mile Town. On 27 March, we will feature Massad, Jesse Sheehan, Brooke Duff and The Phoenix Foundation (pictured).
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As we planned, the Making Tracks music reforms opened the funding doors to a wider range of music genres intended for play on outlets additional to commercial radio. An example is the Auckland folk duo called Great North. They have had two Making Tracks grants so far, and we're delighted Great North has just picked up the 2013 NZ Music Awards "Tui" for Best Folk Album.
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Our congratulations too to the finalists for the 2013 Pacific Music Awards, which will be held in Auckland on 30 May. NZ On Air sponsors two awards at the Pacific Music Awards - an award for the song by a Pacific artist that picked up the most play on radio in the qualifying year and a new award for the best music video by a Pacific artist. The finalists for the inaugural NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video award are Aaradhna (pictured) for Lorena Bobbitt, Iva lamkum for Doo Bop and Vince Harder for Far From Here. All three are NZ On Air Making Tracks-funded videos. Aaradhna has five finals berths at the Pacific Music Awards for her (NZ On Air-funded) album Treble & Reverb and Iva Lamkum is a finalist in four categories. |
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And, of course, our congratulations to the wonderful Kimbra for her two Grammys, including Record Of The Year, for her part in the Gotye/Somebody That I Used To Know phenomenon. That's two Grammys, six Tuis and two Arias in the last 12 months for Kimbra. An amazing achievement .
NZ On Air released a online rights discussion paper late last year. We are pleased to have received a number of submissions, which are now being reviewed. We expect to release the submissions and a cover paper next month.
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We are delighted to announce that the first of our Digital Media Fund Ignite projects has been released. The free Let's Get Inventin' iPad app is available through the iTunes store here. Get your kids creating and they can submit their wild invention ideas to the online invention lab to win prizes and have the chance to get their idea made for real. You can read more about the Digital Media Ignite scheme here.
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Based on the successful theatre production, The Factory is a series of webisodes telling the story of a Pacific Island family who compete in a big talent quest amongst South Auckland factories. Auditions for the Digital Media Fund Kickstart project are already underway. If it sounds like you head along and check out the bus at Mangere Market, Mangere on 23 March, Manukau City Mall, Manukau on 24 March, Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (P.I.P.A) on 27 March, or Otara Market, Otara on 30 March. See the website for more information and fun promo videos.
We nominated the March meeting for Arts/Culture, Platinum, Māori and Comedy programmes. We are pleased to support six diverse projects that deliver 25 hours of content for an investment of just over $3m.
As we advised after the December meeting our available funds for the current financial year are almost spent. Planned-for returning series are likely to account for the majority of the balance of remaining funds and there is virtually no capacity for new projects to be considered at the June meeting. Please speak with our Television Manager before you go to the time and expense of submitting an application.
We have just announced a new documentary fund for feature-length documentaries in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Commission. We expect that the fund will support at least five quality developed documentary projects to screen in cinemas, on television and online. The focus is on funding one-off documentaries from experienced New Zealand documentary filmmakers. There are no restrictions on treatment or style.
Projects need to plan for theatrical distribution in at least three New Zealand cities and also have a New Zealand free-to-air broadcaster attached. The broadcaster will need to commit to screening the documentary in prime-time around six months from the documentary's theatrical premiere date, and contribute a licence fee towards the cost of production. The documentary may also be released on DVD and we anticipate it will be made available in its entirety to NZ On Screen for free public viewing around five years from its theatrical premiere date.
The NZFC and NZ On Air will release a request for proposals on 18 April with a view to green-lighting successful projects in October. You can read more about the fund here.
A new project we have supported is a one hour documentary special The Sixth Man for Prime that will tell the fascinating story of New Zealand diplomat Paddy Costello, accused of spying for the Soviets during the height of the Cold War. The Sixth Man will be made by Messenger Films with producers Richard Riddiford and Matthew Horrocks.
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Local comedy programmes received significant support in this round with three new series funded. After a successful first season Jono and Ben at Ten (pictured) will return for another series of fast-paced late night comedy later this year. Two new series were also supported for TV One's developing local comedy slate. The Late Night Big Breakfast will feature popular funny man Leigh Hart and a cast of co-anchors who attempt to produce their show each week from always changing studio locations. From the producers of Hounds comes Cover Band. Thedownlowconcept's latest series profiles the world of rock 'n roll where faded dreams sometimes mean you have to make a living singing other people's songs. Classic Kiwi anthems will create the soundtrack of this series.
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Kiwi music is also the theme of Smokefree Rockquest with coverage of this annual competition once again being supported for FOUR. Teenagers from around the country will showcase their talents to try to emulate New Vinyl's (pictured) success in last year's competition. A three-part series that looks at New Zealand's changing relationship with censorship was funded for Prime. The Naughty Bits will trace how our attitudes have changed with regard to what is acceptable to listen to, read and see from our colonial past through to the present day. |
More than 260,000 votes were cast in the recently announced TV Guide Best on the Box Awards. We congratulate all the winners. These projects were supported by NZ On Air.
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Best Comedy - 7 Days Best Documentary - When A City Falls Best Kids Show - What Now Best One-Off Drama - Siege Best Documentary Series - Beyond the Darklands Funniest Person on TV - Dai Henwood (7 Days) Rising Star - Morgana O'Reilly (Safe House & Nothing Trivial) Best Presenter, General - Tamati Coffey (New Zealand's Got Talent) Best Actor - Shane Cortese (Nothing Trivial & The Almighty Johnsons) Sexiest Woman - Anna Hutchison (Go Girls) |
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It'll come as no surprise to you that here at NZ On Air we're big fans of local content. Did you know that each week you can find the latest listing of NZ On Air supported television programmes right on the front page of our website? Get out your diary and plan your week's entertainment. You can read this week's listings right here.
Two special interest radio programmes received funding for commercial radio airplay - Easter 2013, produced by the Christian Broadcasting Association and The Nutters' Club, a well known programme featuring mental wellness issues presented by Mike King. Both programmes will be broadcast on Newstalk ZB.
With digital switchover now well underway we'd like to encourage any regional television stations seeking DSO support to make their final applications to our June board meeting.
Television Funding Decisions |
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Genre |
Programme |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Production Company |
Channel |
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Arts/Culture |
THE NAUGHTY BITS |
394,823 |
3 |
60 |
Top Shelf Productions |
Prime |
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Children |
SMOKEFREE ROCKQUEST 2013 |
304,727 |
4 and 1 |
30
60 |
Satin & Lace Productions |
FOUR |
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Comedy |
COVER BAND |
1,141,946 |
6 |
30 |
The Downlowconcept |
TV One |
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Comedy |
JONO AND BEN AT TEN 2 |
948,651 |
20 |
30 |
TVWorks |
TV3 |
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Comedy |
THE LATE NIGHT BIG BREAKFAST |
210,305 |
10 |
30 |
Moon Enterprises |
TV One |
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Documentary |
EDUCATING RANGI |
125,000 |
1 |
60 |
Scottie Douglas Productions |
Maori Television |
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Documentary |
* THE SIXTH MAN |
174,300 |
1 |
60 |
Messenger Films |
Prime |
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Documentary |
s UNDERCOVER RESCUE |
89,968 |
1 |
60 |
Paua Productions |
TV One |
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* These programmes were supported by the NZ On Air Platinum fund
s This programme was funded from TV One Docs
Regional TV Funding Decisions
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Contract Type |
Title |
Producer |
Amount Approved |
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Regional TV DSO Fund |
Television Hawke's Bay DSO Assistance (additional) |
Television Hawkes Bay |
1,991 |
Radio Funding Decisions
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Genre |
Programme |
Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Producer |
Channel |
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Music |
Extended Play 2 |
37,800 |
12 |
52 |
95bFM |
95bFM; Contact FM; The Most FM; Radio Control; Radio One; RNZ National |
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Special Interest |
Easter 2013 |
16,000 |
1 |
720 |
Christian Broadcasting Association |
NewstalkZB |
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Special Interest |
The Nutters Club Radio Show |
73,000 |
52 |
120 |
The Key to Life Charitable Trust |
NewstalkZB |
Music Funding Decisions - February Making Tracks
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Funding Type |
Artist - Project |
Amount Approved |
Record Company |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
BLACKLISTT - Burn |
10,000 |
Blindspott |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
BROOKE DUFF - The Real You |
10,000 |
Illegal Musik |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT - Numb Distraction |
10,000 |
Lorretta Recordings |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
DANE RUMBLE - Not Alone featuring Jupiter Project |
10,000 |
Rumble Music |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
DUDLEY BENSON - Muscles |
10,000 |
Golden Retreiver Records |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
ESTERE - I Spy |
10,000 |
Estere Dalton |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
FARAH LOUX - Great Escape |
10,000 |
Like-Minded Management |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
LISA CRAWLEY - Tide Is Low |
10,000 |
Let The People Speak Entertainment |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
LITTLE OCEANS - Focus Harder (theaudience Wildcard) |
10,000 |
Little Oceans |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
LITTLE OCEANS - Illuminated |
10,000 |
Little Oceans |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
RIA HALL - Song title tbc |
10,000 |
Tu Taniwha Entertainment |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
SAM ALLEN - Assurance |
10,000 |
Sam Allen |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
SMASHPROOF - Paint Fade |
10,000 |
Move The Crowd |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION - Thames Soup |
10,000 |
The Phoenix Foundation |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
TITANIUM - Soundtrack To Summer ft Jupiter Project |
10,000 |
The Edge |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
VOIN VOIN STRUM - Take Me Home |
10,000 |
Famous Music |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
AT PEACE - Flowers |
6,000 |
Young, Gifted & Broke |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
CLARA VAN WEL - Beautiful |
6,000 |
Sony Music Entertainment |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
CRAIG TERRIS - The Hills Of Song |
6,000 |
Craig Terris |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
HURRICANE KIDS - Over |
6,000 |
Oliver Green |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
LADI6 - Fall In Love |
6,000 |
Ladi6 |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
MALES - So High |
6,000 |
Oli Wilson |
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NZ Music Making Tracks |
RANDA - Frankenstein |
6,000 |
CRS Music Management |
Printable versionIn this issue...
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A Note From Our CEO -
Topping twenty... -
Back to more Making Tracks -
More than a million -
Showcasing new music -
Congratulations to -
Online rights update -
Let's Get Inventin' App -
The Factory -
Television Overview -
Documentary fund -
Platinum Fund -
Comedy -
Children and Arts & Culture -
Bouquets -
Champions of the local -
Special interest radio programmes -
Digital switchover update -
Funding Decisions March 2013
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