NZ Music Month

NZ Music Month began back in 2001 when, despite the good music that was out there, Kiwi tunes were woefully under-represented on our airwaves, TV screens, and charts – barely reaching a double-digit percentage of content on air. Aiming to correct this reliance on imported music, NZ Music Month gave our media a chance to showcase homegrown talent that may not normally have reached the public. In the process a bunch of stars were uncovered, and New Zealanders' taste for their own musical heroes confirmed. Over the past couple of years the focus has moved to include the public as much as possible in what has become a truly national celebration of our favourite artists.NZ Music Month is a partnership between the NZ Music Commission and a number of other organisations including songwriters' association APRA, Independent Music NZ, NZ On Air, the Radio Broadcasters Association and the Recording Industry Association of NZ. Whether they are hearing Kiwi music on the radio, seeing it on TV, or – better still – live in person, New Zealanders across the country experience more of our very own homegrown talent on our airwaves and stages throughout the month, showing their support for local music by coming to one of the official events, buying a Kiwi CD, attending one of the hundreds of other gigs that take place, or pulling on a NZ Music Month t-shirt from Hallensteins.So this May check out our gig guide to see what's going on all around the country, hit up your local record store for new releases or shop online, start soaking up the massive amount of local tune-age that'll be all over TV and radio in coming weeks, and don't forget to enter the Telecom Little Town, Big Gig competition that could see your town hosting the official closing of NZ Music Month 2008 with a concert by one of the country's biggest bands – opshop.