Music

Celebrating local songs

Local music continued to make a strong impact across Aotearoa’s airwaves and digital platforms in 2024/25. Commercial radio featured 17.28% local music, while alternative radio stations showcased 75.52%. Iwi radio continued to be a powerful platform, with 54.42% of its music being homegrown sounds. On streaming services, local tracks made up 6.51% of total streams – an impressive 811 million plays.

Due to the challenge local music discoverability is experiencing at commercial radio and on streaming platforms, there has been a decline in the percentage of New Zealand music on these platforms. However, in recognition of these challenges the NZ On Air Music team has created opportunities to help upskill artists on how to market and promote their releases, learn about the promotional tools available to them within each of the streaming platforms, and facilitated events to connect them with radio programmers and streaming curators.

NZ On Air experienced unprecedented demand for music funding this year. We supported 213 singles through 14 funding rounds, including our focus rounds (Waiata Takitahi, New Music Kids, New Music Pasifika and New Music Pan-Asian), and funded 37 New Music Projects (including New Music Project Kids).

In singles funding, there were 1,141 applications for those 213 grants while in New Music Projects (including New Music Project Kids) there were 69 applications with the budget to fund just 37. With the rise of streaming and intense competition from global artists, local musicians need top-tier content and resources to succeed. NZ On Air music funding supports New Zealand talent in creating these.

We received a total of 958 applications for New Music Singles (NMS) – down slightly from last year due to updated entry criteria and the introduction of an added budget requirement. 152 singles were funded through NMS, with 33 first-time recipients joining the fold. Of those funded singles, 41% went to female artists and 31% of all NMS applicants were women.

Of all funded singles, including focus rounds, 61 featured Māori artists or included te reo Māori, reflecting our commitment to cultural representation and language revitalisation. Stan Walker’s Māori Ki Te Ao stood out, spending an impressive 41 consecutive weeks at number one on the Te Reo Māori Singles Chart and winning the Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo award at the 2025 AMAs.

Supporting artists

Our support continues to make a difference: 80% of AMA winners were funded by NZ On Air in 2025 and 48% of Music Features songs successfully crossed over to mainstream playlists. Corrella’s Blue Eyed Māori held the number one spot on the NZ Singles Chart for 13 consecutive weeks, while Hori Shaw’s Back in My Arms became the most streamed local song of the year.

In response to feedback from the sector from Victoria Kelly’s 2023 Music Funding Review, NZ On Air implemented several key changes. These included increasing funding amounts, removing financial co-investment requirements, making the Artist Creation fee compulsory, and shifting drawdowns to advance payments rather than reimbursements. These updates reflect our commitment to supporting artists with the resources they need to thrive in a competitive global music landscape.

Fazerdaze

One of the standout music stories of the year, Fazerdaze’s Soft Power is a critically acclaimed, self-produced album that’s proudly alternative. As a female, Asian artist from Whanganui-a-Tara crafting her own version of womanhood and adulthood, Fazerdaze brings powerful diversity to the local music scene.

After receiving four earlier New Music Single grants (2014; 2 x 2016; 2021), this album was funded through New Music Projects in 2021 and NZ On Air has been proud to support Fazerdaze’s creative journey. The album won Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist – Te Tino Reo o te Tau at the Aotearoa Music Awards, was nominated for Single of the Year for Cherrie Pie and Best Engineer, and was named #1 on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s list of “Best New Zealand Albums of 2024”. Soft Power peaked at #2 on the Official Top 20 NZ Album Chart, gained over 5 million streams within the first six months of release, and was played on alternative radio nationwide including 95bFM, RDU, Most FM, Radio Control, RNZ and Plains FM.

Fazerdaze – Soft Power album (album released Nov 2024, funded in New Music Project 2021)

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Myshaan

Myshaan (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) is a soulful artist whose music blends contemporary R&B with Pacific influences, rooted in his Māori heritage. His sound connects strongly with a diverse, youthful audience. His single Carry My Heart has amassed over 3.5m streams on Spotify and 2.8m views on YouTube. On TikTok, the hashtag #CarryMyHeartMyshaan has attracted over 7.7m views.

Prior to this, Myshaan received one New Music Single grant, and in July 2025 was funded through New Music Project for the first time – demonstrating continued support for his fast-rising career.

Myshaan – Carry My Heart single (released Nov 2024, funded New Music Pasifika April 2024)

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Alien Weaponry

Alien Weaponry’s third album Te Rā, released in March 2025, marked a major milestone for the band – made possible through funding from NZ On Air and support from Napalm Records. The grant enabled the band to work with renowned producer Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Gojira), elevating their sound and production quality to an international standard. The album debuted at #30 on the NZ Albums Chart and was praised for its fusion of heavy metal with te reo Māori and themes of cultural resilience.

The lead single Mau Moko, written by bassist Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds, explores the traditional Māori tattooing practice and its colonial suppression. With funding support, the band produced a high-quality music video directed by Jermaine Leef, which reached over 450,000 views on YouTube within months. The song’s emotional depth and cultural significance also drew critical acclaim, reinforcing the band’s role as storytellers and cultural ambassadors.

The album’s success launched Alien Weaponry into a 30-city North American tour with Kerry King and Municipal Waste. Their haka-infused performances and new material from Te Rā earned rave reviews and expanded their global fanbase – proving how strategic funding can fuel international impact.

Alien Weaponry – Te Rā (released March 2025, funded June 2024)

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Venice Qin

Venice Qin’s rise in 2024/25 has been powered in large part by support from NZ On Air’s New Music Pan-Asian initiative. Her single Freak Out, released in May 2025, marked a major breakthrough—earning over 95,000 Spotify streams, 4,000 on YouTube Music and 3,200 YouTube views in just three months. The funding enabled her to collaborate with top-tier talent including producer Maribelle (Vetta Borne) and mastering engineer Antonia Gauci, elevating the track’s production and reach.

The success of Freak Out also opened doors to new creative ventures, including 5 STARS, a self-produced miniseries that deepens her connection with fans. The visibility and momentum generated by the funded release helped secure her signing with Sony Music, amplifying her platform and positioning her for long-term growth.

Building on that success, Qin received a second round of New Music Pan-Asian funding in June 2025 for an upcoming single. With her debut album MOONLANDING in development, the continued investment in her work is proving instrumental in shaping one of Aotearoa’s most exciting emerging voices in alt-pop.

Venice Qin – Freak Out single (funded New Music Pan-Asian July 2024, released May 2025; also funded New Music Pan-Asian June 2025, released Sept 2025)

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Riiki Reid

Weaving together her Māori (Ngāti Porou), Samoan and Scottish heritage, Riiki Reid’s rise highlights the impact of long-term development. Starting with a New Music Single grant in 2020 and performing as an emerging artist at NZ On Air’s 2020 music industry showcase, Riiki went on to secure a New Music Project grant in 2021 and is now topping national charts.

Her single Over Romantic – released in February 2025 – quickly became a breakout local hit, holding number one on the Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart for eight weeks and topping the NZ Airplay Chart for seven weeks. Before this breakthrough, Riiki featured on funded Music Features such as Kiwi Discovery (The Edge) and Locals Only (ZM and The Hits), before moving into full playlisting rotation.

A champion for emerging artists, Riiki hosted an NZ On Air-funded Parachute Writing Night to support up-and-coming talent. She now reaches more than 120k monthly listeners on Spotify and has accumulated over 10m streams across her catalogue.

Riiki Reid – New Music Project funded Nov 2024:- 3x singles released so far – Over Romantic, Indulgent (Fruit) and Candy.

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Loopy Tunes

Mā: Matariki for Tamariki is a culturally rich children’s album by Christchurch siblings Siu Williams Lemi and Leah Williams Partington. Having received five New Music Kids (NMK) grants since 2021, securing the New Music Project Kids grant to make this album was a significant milestone.

The album, which won the 2025 Best Children’s Music Artist (Tūī) award, features 13 tracks and 16 videos centred on the Māori New Year, with each song dedicated to one of the nine whetū (stars) of Matariki. Performed in a blend of Māori, Pasifika languages and New Zealand Sign Language, the album celebrates culture while making it fun and engaging for tamariki.

In 2024/25, Loopy Tunes toured across Aotearoa, ran workshops and continued their popular YouTube series Music Time with Loopy Tunes. Their journey shows how consistent support can turn kaupapa into national impact for tamariki and whānau.

Loopy Tunes Preschool Music – Mā: Matariki for Tamariki (New Music Project Kids, funded July 2024)

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NZ On Air Music Showcases

NZ On Air hosts three to four music showcases throughout the year, to profile new artists and expose them to an audience of mainstream media, including radio and streaming services. These short, live performances connect artists and key industry players. They also serve as a platform for our Get To Know video series, which aims to also deepen public engagement with local talent.

• In September 2024, NZ On Air hosted the Waiata Reo Māori Showcase, in association with Te Māngai Pāho at Big Fan in Tāmaki Makaurau, with performances from Swizl Jager, Ma, Aja, TAWAZ and Mara TK.
• In February 2025 at Big Fan, we saw live performances from emerging artists A.R.T, Ruby Coley, Coast Arcade and NO CIGAR. At this showcase, we were joined by Min. Paul Goldsmith to present awards to commercial radio stations that achieved over 20% local music airplay in 2024 - reinforcing their commitment to increasing New Zealand music on mainstream platforms.
• The last music showcase for 2024/25 was held in June 2025. This time, the event showcased live performances from Frankie Venter, The Boondocks, Castaway and Tusekah.