THE EMPIRE
Believe it or not, May is still NZ music month despite it being a shadow of its former self. I remember it being a pretty big deal about 10 years ago but in semi-recent years it has really dropped off the radar at least in regards to the more mainstream media who may give it a slight mention once or twice, but definitely do not give it the amount of dedicated programming that it had in the past.
I find this really annoying as NZ music and musicians have a pretty hard time, unless you are among the select few that get regular coverage. Other artists generally get shifted into the obscure hours of the morning and night where the listener/viewer base is basically non-existent. When we have a dedicated music month that gets very little support from the bigger brands then what is the point in still having it? Is it not designed to put a big focus on NZ music and the awesome local homegrown talent we have?
Something that has also dropped off the radar is the sale of NZMM T Shirts, you can still order them online from the NZMM website butIt is not overtly advertised and long gone are the days where it was quite a popular purchase! I feel like the comparative sales figures between now and the NZMM hay-day would be hugely different.
One positive aspect of all of this is that bands, musicians, and NZ music fans who are aware of NZMM seemingly come together during this time to pick up the slack that the media leaves behind. A sort of NZ Music movement occurs socially at this time and I definitely see an influx of social media posts regarding NZ music which is awesome to see, but that is also relative to the friend and social groups I have which is very musically dominated. I feel like people outside of those circles would barely know that any extra focus was being put towards NZ music this month.
I really want to see more focus put on NZ music nationwide, not just once a year, but even when we have a set time to be dedicated to it it is still relatively ignored. So I really don’t see mainstream media getting behind NZ music or NZ Music Month much more than the token gesture it pays it at the moment, at least for a few years to come. But in saying that I am very open to be proven wrong this time around!
End Rant…
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