Frequently Asked Questions

CAN YOU GIVE ME A LOW DOWN ON NZ ON AIR'S MUSIC PROGRAMME??

The NZ On Air Music scheme started in 1991. The main music mission is to get more New Zealand music played on the radio.  NZ On Air is an instrument of Government broadcasting policy, mandated by the Broadcasting Act and funded from Vote: Broadcasting.
Our strategic priority is to infiltrate commercial radio.  That's not because we value commercial radio more highly than student radio or any other kind of public radio.  The reason is because commercial radio is where there is not enough New Zealand music.  National Radio and the b.nets do a great job for New Zealand music - they are already converts to the cause, and we fund a lot of their NZ music work - but commercial radio is where we need to make a difference and so that's where we target our efforts (for the most part).  

WHAT FUNDING DOES NZ ON AIR OFFER?

There are three funding schemes: New Recording Artist funding, Music Video funding and Album funding. Click through to the guidelines section of each of the funding to find out how to be eligible.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN I APPLY FOR FUNDING?

We don’t put a limit on the number of times you can apply for funding, but each grant follows the “one song per round” rule. For New Recording Artist funding we’re listening out for demos. For Music Video funding we want finished tracks only. Album Funding is another ball game, as in order to apply you need to have $50,000 in matching funds, a release deal, two recent Top 40 NZ Airplay songs and four demos of your upcoming radio hits.

CAN I JUST APPLY FOR VIDEO FUNDING?

You are welcome to apply for Music Video funding, however part of the criteria for funding is the airplay potential of the song, and we use the music video to help the campaign to get songs on to radio. So the airplay potential of the song will always be a factor in decisions.

WHAT SONGS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE NEW RECORDING ARTIST?

Just bear in mind that everything pretty much comes down to the commercial airplay potential of your song – a catchy, radio ready song - every time.

WHAT QUALITY DEMOS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

We want to hear all the ideas you have for your song. We suggest the song should be as realised as possible before sending it in for funding. That doesn’t mean you need to go into a professional studio to record a demo. It just means, if it’s a band song, add the drums, bass and guitar, don’t just send in an acoustic track. We do want to make sure that $5,000 worth of production work will bring out the best of your song.

CAN YOU LISTEN TO IT BEFORE I APPLY FOR FUNDING?

Afraid not. We are actually inundated with applications for New Recording Artists, and Music Video grants (more than 1500 applications a year), and we simply don’t have the time or resources to check each song for suitability. Also, we have to remain neutral and it’s not fair on other applicants if we have been advising some and not others.
Your best bet is to apply and see how you go!

WILL NZ ON AIR OWN MY SONG IF IT GETS FUNDING?

No, the rights to ownership of the song remain with the repertoire owner (whether that be the artist, band, a record company or another third party who you have signed ownership rights to). When you give us a song for Kiwi Hit Disc, you do give us the right to use the song for promotional/broadcast use (only), and if you get Music Video funding, you give us a (non-exclusive) right to use the video for promotional purposes. But in all cases, the repertoire-owner retains the ownership and commercial exploitation rights.

WILL NZ ON AIR PROMOTE MY MUSIC IF I GET FUNDING?

NZ On Air does have NZ music promotions staff based in Auckland, but to give your song a healthy shot at airplay it is recommended that you implement a media strategy to help support the release of your song to radio and television. This may involve paying for some independent PR and radio plugging services. The repertoire-owner should always front the campaign, even if the song is on an NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc. Think of NZ On Air as back up or reinforcement.

DO I NEED TO BE SIGNED TO A RECORD COMPANY BEFORE APPLYING FOR FUNDING?

No, not at all, any artist or band with a song can apply. The key is the airplay potential of the song, and for most grants we expect some kind of media marketing and release plan for the song.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR ALBUM FUNDING?

You need two current radio hits.  The artist/band must have at least two current radio hits to their name in order to apply.  We define a "radio hit" as a RadioScope NZ Airplay Chart Top 40 song and "current" means (generally) within the last two years. 
 
You need the potential to deliver four more.  Our aim is to get four more radio hits off any album we fund and so we need to be convinced that there are four radio hits on the new album.  We make that judgment on the basis of the artist's airplay track record but these days, we also ask for four demos of four songs that are candidates for the new album.
 
You need a release deal. We need to know who is going to release the album and in particular, who is going to be representing the songs at radio.
 
You need matching funding. Our contribution is 50% of the costs of making (recording) and marketing the album up to a maximum of $50,000 per album.  So we need to see a full production and marketing budget for the project. 

HOW DO I GET ON A KIWI HIT DISC?

You need a finished song and a finished (or soon-to-be released) music video to apply for Kiwi Hit Disc. You can fill out the application here. You should also have a marketing and release plan for the song to help your application for inclusion on the disc, and priority will always go to songs with a Music Video to back up the release.

HOW OFTEN DO THE KIWI HIT DISCS COME OUT?

We produce 11 Kiwi Hit Discs a year, that’s a monthly disc from February through to December.

WHY DOES NZ ON AIR FUND ALBUMS?

Album funding is really the engine room of the local content campaign.  We fund albums to provide a source of radio hits that will feed and grow the 20%. Local content on commercial radio is about 20% at the moment.  It used to be 2%.  Our objective is to help to maintain and grow the 20%, and album funding is one of our chief weapons in that campaign. 

DO I HAVE TO PAY BACK THE ALBUM FUNDING GRANT?

Yes, it’s the NZ On Air scheme which requires paying back some or all of the grant. We expect payment of $1 per CD unit of the album sold in NZ within the first two years of release, up to the amount advanced in the first place. So, if the record sells 5,000 copies, we get back $5,000. If the record sells 50,000 copies, we get back our $50,000, but if it sells 60,000, we just take back our original $50,000. All of the other grants are just that, grants.

WHAT IS PHASE FOUR?

The Phase Four plan was a $2 million programme to step up the campaign to increase local music content on commercial radio.  There were three strands to the Phase Four plan – and one of those was "more money for making and marketing music" (which meant funding albums by bands with a radio hits track record ... to feed the local content campaign, and radio singles by bands that do not yet have a radio hits track record to grow the radio repertoire base, and inject new blood and bring through the next generation of radio hit makers).

WHAT IS PHASE FIVE?

Phase Five is NZ On Air's international New Zealand music promotion plan and it was launched in 2005.  We work alongside the Music Commission and its Outward Sound programme.  Phase Five's mission is to introduce New Zealand music to the world and Outward Sound's mission is to take New Zealand music to the world.  With Phase Five, for example, we have a relationship with the College Music Journal in New York to infiltrate college radio in the US and get college radio interested in New Zealand music.

WHAT IS RADIOSCOPE?

RadioScope is an independent monitor of radio airplay.  RadioScope produces the weekly Top 40 Airplay Charts (see www.radioscope.co.nz) for the radio industry, and also produces the weekly Top 40 Sales charts (albums and singles) for the record industry.   Every week, about 50 or so radio stations throughout the country provide RadioScope with a list of their most-played songs that week and RadioScope makes the charts based on these airplay returns from the stations.  All the commercials, as well as the b.Nets, and some Maori stations supply RadioScope with playlist information each week.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF MY MUSIC IS ‘NZ MUSIC’ ?

We define "New Zealand music" as "music made by New Zealanders" where "made" means "performed or recorded" and a "New Zealander" is a "resident or citizen".
 
That is the simple eligibility test but in situations where it's not that black-and-white, where it's a bit of a line-call, there is a simple five-question test that you can apply.  You can find it on the Radio Broadcasters Association website - www.rba.co.nz
 
What that all means is that if you meet the "New Zealand music" test and you release a song in New Zealand and it gets played on the radio, then it will be counted as New Zealand content for the airplay charts.
 
In the case of funding, even if you do satisfy the New Zealand music test, we do also need a New Zealand contract partner in the project.  Generally, that will be the New Zealand record company that is releasing the music in New Zealand and working the songs at radio here in New Zealand. That's not only because we can't be funding overseas record companies and exporting our dollars, but more because we want to partner with the party that is working to generate an airplay result in New Zealand and thus, help us with our campaign to maintain and grow the local content figures.