Managing NZ Music Month involves a lot of big picture logistics, co-ordination, people and partners to support at least 530 artists putting on 890 events in 91 centres this May. But as Simon Woods says, it’s the little things that count.

“The strength of NZ Music Month is in the hundreds of small events held throughout the country, they’re really special and important as they connect local communities to music.”

And yes, there is still a need to celebrate NZ Music for a whole month each year.

“Do we need NZ Music Month? At the heart of a question like that is do we need culture, is art important? The answer is of course, yes. So many people get involved doing things that benefit musicians and people's appreciation of local music - why wouldn’t we continue with it?”

Tell us a bit about your background

Started in student radio back in the 80’s ended up managing a station… did the obligatory OE, and then worked for Flying Nun Records and Flying In Distribution on my return. Continued at Flying In when Flying Nun merged with Festival and Mushroom Records, then left to set up my own distribution company and record label, in music, which closed after three hard years. From there I did a stint as programme director at Alt TV then got all digital as editor at Amplifier.co.nz, and from there I moved to where I am now at the NZ Music Commission – I guess that makes me a music industry veteran, or something.

Tell us about your role as NZ Music Month Manager.

My role is one of facilitating the month on behalf of the NZ Music Commission, providing a central pivot for this community based month long celebration. It involves everything from encouraging and advising people putting on their first gig, to logistics of manufacturing and distributing merchandise and promotional items around the country, co-ordinating with our official partners, co-ordinating publicity and promotional opportunities for the month and events through to putting on events. It is a varied role to say the least.

What’s involved in putting on NZ Music Month - what combination of people and resources do you work with?

APRA AMCOs, NZ On Air, the Radio Broadcasters Association, Recorded Music NZ, the Music Managers Forum, Independent Music NZ and us at the NZ Music Commission are the official partners in the month. The Commission is the central hub and takes care of the day to day running of NZ Music Month.

At the Commission we’re a very small team with only myself dedicated to NZ Music Month through the year, in April we take on an assistant and the rest of the staff help when and where needed. Plus we use volunteers and help from our partners for various events and functions. I also work with dozens of people outside the organisation involved helping, encouraging and lending what support we can to the hundreds of events scheduled through the month.

What's different about this year's NZ Music Month?

Every single year NZ Music Month is different. Currently we have over 890 events listed on our gig guide that include over 530 artists and bands being held in 81 centres – that is a lot of music and we’re still adding more shows.

At its heart is hundreds of people throughout NZ putting on events, gigs, exhibitions and other promotions centred around local music and music makers. We don’t have control nor do we take ownership of these events, we encourage people to get involved and do things to celebrate our musical culture. This means every year differs from the last in who is doing things and what those things are, the only common theme being local music and the partners involved in running the month. 

When and why did Music Month start and do we still need it?

Originally it was a week and was purely designed to promote the fact commercial radio weren’t playing much local music on their stations. It has since morphed into a community based promotion celebrating our local music.

Do we need NZ Music Month? At the heart of a question like that is do we need culture, is art important?  The answer is of course, yes. So many people get involved doing things that benefit musicians and peoples appreciation of local music - why wouldn’t we continue with it? 

What are current challenges and opportunities in NZ and internationally? 

The biggest challenge musicians face is the domestic market – it's really hard to be financially viable in a market of our size. Opportunities are limited, so if music is the career goal for a person they’ve got to be really focused to succeed. It's not impossible, as so many successful musicians can attest but it sure isn’t easy.

However, we live in a rapidly shrinking world thanks to the internet and more affordable international travel. These have opened so many avenues for musicians to reach potential fans and create opportunities offshore. Where with careful planning, the right music and some luck people can find ways that will make that career dream a reality. Bands and artists have to be prepared to try and trial everything and learn from their successes and failures to find the right mix of touring, recording and other opportunities that will get them the financial or artistic return they seek. 

What are your thoughts on physical vs digital sales? (including the resurgence of vinyl)

I’m a massive vinyl fan and love the format – seeing a resurgence in the medium is fantastic and the fact so many bands and labels are releasing music on vinyl is too, but we have to temper that with the fact vinyl will always have a limited market and thus future. CDs are still declining in sales volume and I would expect sales to stabilise sooner than later and CDs to continue selling for the foreseeable future. Digital sales will decline as streaming replaces them - to be able to have access to so much music so quickly and easily I still find mind boggling. The freedom to explore, discover and revisit favourites is endless, digital is the leader in sales and consumption.

What's your top tip for musicians looking to get coverage during NZ Music Month?

Don’t wait for something to happen, get out there and network, create your own events or collaborate with others… do your own promotion and marketing, and finally tell us what you’re doing so we can include you in our promotional push. And most importantly whatever you do, enjoy yourselves.

Tell us a bit about this year's NZ Music Month Summit. 
 
This year's NZ Music Month Summit differs from most of the previous ones in that attendees are put into groups and ushered around each session, meaning no more than 30 people in the room. This gives attendees quality time and opportunities to interact with the panelists, who are a veritable who’s who of industry players, as well as interacting with their fellow attendees which can be equally as rewarding. There are five sessions each group go through from Music Management, Record Companies, Touring and Festivals, Royalties and Mechanicals, Radio and Streaming – we pretty much cover all the important aspects of the industry in one day. As well as it being a really informative day it is also a really fun one. 

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

There’s no best way but I do think there is the right music to listen to at any given moment. 

Music is the most wonderful compliment to our life… finding that which suits your mood, time and place is the most important thing. Be it sitting and actively listening to your favourite artist in front of your home stereo… listening to a Spotify playlist that makes the commute to work enjoyable, having the right background music on when lounging around on the couch…or working away on a computer having the right kickass song that when volume is applied gives you a energy rush and puts you in the mood to conquer the world. 

Find that which moves you and most importantly enjoy what you listen to. Life’s too short for boring music.

What's your big idea for 2016?

I guess my big idea is to continue to focus on the little things, NZ Music Month is about local musicians, performing local music in local spaces to locals… 

The strength of NZ Music Month is in the hundreds of small events held throughout the country, they’re really special and important as they connect local communities to music and that is fantastic. Each year we see events repeated and new ones established – my desire is for those to continue and grow both as part of  NZ Music Month and outside of it so we can all share and benefit from the music and musical talent that resides here.