New Music Single

New Music Single funding can be used for recording a single, creating visual content to promote the single and other promotion costs to increase New Zealand audience awareness and engagement with the audio and video content.

To be eligible to apply for New Music Single funding we ask that you have reached at least 10 out of 30 criteria benchmarks for your music to date. If you can reach at least 10 out of these 30 benchmarks, then your song and application can be submitted to be assessed by our expert funding panels.

As of January 2024, the mandatory 10% Artist Creation Fee amounting up to $1,000 plus GST (if applicable), will be appended to your grant and disbursed exclusively in the final Drawdown. This fee pertains to internal creative services provided to the project by the artist. Consequently, the New Music Single funding grant of $10,000 will include an additional maximum payment of up to $1,000, resulting in a total funding amount of up to $11,000.

All artist applicants must meet a minimum of 10 out of 30 criteria before you can apply for New Music Single funding.

Before you apply for New Music Single funding you must ensure you reach our entry threshold criteria, as well as ensuring your music is classified as New Zealand music.

To qualify for funding, you must answer ‘yes’ to at least 10 of the 30 criteria set out in the funding criteria document below. The entry criteria exist to ensure artists have made steps to find their audience and will apply NZ On Air funding to further their goal of expanding their audience.

The document will ask you about:

• Your audience and/or following
• Your track record in the New Zealand music scene
• Your business credentials
• Your strategic plans for what you will do with funding

There is also information about eligible costs, grant allowance and what is considered a responsible use of public funds.