It was a sunny, clear day in May – crisp and gorgeous like autumn should be. Inside the Tuning Fork in downtown Auckland, the red velvet curtains were drawn and a couple of hundred musicians, managers, producers, and music diehards gathered in the dark. We were at the annual NZ Music Month Summit, put on by the NZ Music Commission and the Music Managers Forum Aotearoa. The summit packed five panels into one day, with a break for lunch and an hour of mingling afterwards. It was free to attend, but obviously not every musician can make it to a summit at 10.45am on a Saturday, so I was there, pen and notebook in hand, eavesdropping for you.
Here’s the most important and useful things I heard.
Playing live is still the preferred way to grow audiences
In a panel about growing audiences in Aotearoa with Ladi6, Deva Mahal, Mikeyy and Duncan Greive chaired by Rachel Ashby, the consensus among the artists was that playing gigs is the best way to gain fans. Mikeyy said that festivals are like “superspreader events” for your music, as people who may otherwise never have heard of you before stumble upon your set. Ladi encouraged touring to the regions, “they’re dying to have entertainment, it's an easy win… get out and play”. Deva highlighted the importance of connecting with people after playing – she always makes an effort to be available to chat to people after she plays, and emphasised things like “your own loyal following” and said “you're looking for someone who's already looking for you… You're trying to find the people that see you”.
Playing live was second only to word of mouth – it was agreed that people trust recommendations from friends, including from parasocial relationships with curators like radio station DJs and journalists. It was suggested that every musician seek out a friendship with a journalist, although personally I would like to be befriended on less ulterior motives.
Social media is a hungry beast
Ladi, Deva, and Mikeyy all seemed to view social media as a necessary evil, and one that they hadn’t fully mastered (perhaps that’s impossible with ever-changing online landscapes). All three used social media (Instagram especially) to keep connected with audiences between playing live. “I find, especially after a big tour, for example, when I know that I've picked up however many new fans in a condensed amount of time – it's like, okay, now we throw all the ammo, all the new demos, all the new content, breakdowns, as much as I can that is engaging and that I would enjoy watching,” said Mikeyy. Creating the content can mean “a new existential crisis every week” as he tries to navigate “trying to fit in who you are with what's working, which is a crazy new thing we have to do as musicians”.
While Deva said she tries to respond to people who engage with her content, “I also think it's important to protect yourself in this space too, because it can be something that hollows you out. It can be like a hungry animal that you have to always feed. So I think it's also really important to figure out how much you want to give to this.”
There’s more space than ever for reo in music
In a panel titled Ko Tō Tātou Reo, Ko Tō Tātou Oro – Our Language, Our Sound with Dr. Eugene Fuimaono (Live MD, Māori academic), Jordyn With A Why, MOHI, and Noema Te Hau III (Music Producer/Songwriter) moderated by Sarah Owen (Māori Music Industry Collective), the growth of waiata reo Māori and waiata reo rua was discussed. Dr. Eugene Fuimaono said that one of the things he noticed during research for his PhD was that “right now we're in a unique space where Māoriatanga and te reo Māori is actually kind of cool, which it hasn't been for 200 years”. Noema Te Hau III said “reo Māori music has been reggae for so long, and kapa haka for so long” – now he is happy to see reo across other genres. Later he said “I feel like there’s never been more space for reo in music than right now… it’s actually viable to use it and it's not going to take away from your career, it's going to help you a lot.”
It’s punk to wear earplugs
Apparently they’re all the rage in all-ages spaces, and it's even cool for musicians to ask the audience if they’re wearing them, in order to prepare them for how loud it's going to be! Cool.
Sort out your tech rider
Forget about the free beers – your technical rider is the most important thing and will get the sound engineer and venue on-side if done right. Sound Engineer James Goldsmith had a few tips. First of all, have a clear stage plot – not a list but literally an eagle’s eye point-of-view map of the stage, to show what you want where. Secondly, it needs to have contact details on it so the techie can call you with any questions. Thirdly, be realistic about gear. Don’t ask for a rare vintage guitar amp when playing at a small independent venue. You need to learn to work with the stock-standard equipment that they will have, and know how to achieve your sound with it. Here’s a bit more information on tech riders.
Libraries have more resources than you realise
There was a whole panel about resources available in “the neighbourhood” and god was I gobsmacked to hear that the new library in central Christchurch, Tūranga, has free to use audio/video studios that come with a world-class technician, instruments and all the hardware and software you need. Less surprising but still useful is the badge maker, embroidery machines, heat press (for printing on t-shirts) and vinyl cutter that are also available. Before we all move south, I’ll remind you that your library may have its own makerspace for merch-production, and that you should check with your local council to see what else they might have – someone on the panel pointed out there’s plenty of high-school music rooms with equipment that are unused much of the time.
It’s okay if no one comes to your gig
Embarrassing and heartbreaking for sure, but it's surely happened to everyone sometime in their life, and it's best not to cry or give up. Lucy Macrae (Dick Move, Whammy Bar, Chicks That Scream, The Label) said “it doesn't matter. It doesn't. No, just keep playing, have fun. That's why you're there. You're there with a group of people you've worked really hard with. You're on stage – that's awesome… Anybody who stands up on stage with an instrument or a microphone, I'm like, ‘wow, that is so cool.’ So if you're on stage, just have fun. There may be three people in the room, they may be your biggest fans and you might make their night. So it doesn't matter if there's a full room or three people just play and have fun and play your hardest. And sometimes you have to put in more energy and you've got to show up more for less people in the room and that's cool, do it.”
