New Music Pasifika funding

This fund was created in response to a lack of equitable representation of Pasifika musicians in the Aotearoa music sector.

This under-representation was highlighted within the Music Diversity Report that has been produced by NZ On Air since 2020.

Artists of Pasifika descent can apply for:

• up to $10,000 (plus GST, if registered)
• plus a 10% mandatory Artist Creation Fee
• a total per fund of up to $11,000.

The mandatory 10% Artist Creation Fee, up to $1,000 plus GST (if applicable), will be added and paid out only in the final drawdown. This fee specifically covers the artist's creative work on the project.

New Music Pasifika provides funding for developing Pasifika artists who are new to NZ On Air funding to:

• professionally record, mix and master a single song
• create visual content to promote the single
• pay other marketing and promotion costs to increase New Zealand audience awareness and engagement with the audio and visual content.

Additionally, the recipients will receive dedicated wrap-around support:

• Two compulsory Music Manager Forum Aotearoa (MMF) mentoring sessions.
• Compulsory webinars with the NZ On Air Music team and accountants around contracting and budgeting.
• Upskilling webinars with industry partners.

New Music Pasifika has no entry criteria threshold for applying, however it is expected the artist has already released at least two songs and has a social media profile.

The fund is open to Pasifika-identifying artists who have not received New Music Single or New Music Project funding.

Applicants can only receive a maximum of two Development grants in total (New Music Pasifika, New Music Pan-Asian, New Music Māori, New Music Development). The aim is to support the artist in building their audience to a stage where they will then be able to tick at least 10 of the 30 criteria to apply for New Music Single.

All Music funding applications must include an initial budget outlining your expected costs.

• The Application Budget Template can be found as an Excel spreadsheet under New Music Pasifika documents below, or it is available here on Google Sheets.
• You can then upload or link to it in your New Music Pasifika funding application.

Successful applicants can claim any eligible expenses from the date the funding round opens.