In this issue I am going to look at some of the other costs that we can claim as self-employed musicians. We have already looked at motor vehicle costs, other travel costs, AC Levies, assets, depreciation, and practice and study room costs and how to calculate these. The other costs centres are relatively easy to work out but are often neglected as they’re not considered important enough or, are smaller amounts, however if added together can be quite a significant claim and are just as important in making your business work. ...more

Over the past two issues, I’ve described the initial process of preparing for a headlining gig in which the band puts their personal signature on the concert. As I wrote in the last column, a gig plan has a definite beginning, middle, and end. If you have a date booked at a local club, the confirmed participation of all of your bandmates, and the solid commitment of the support bands, then you have accomplished the beginning of your gig plan. Now you are in the middle of the plan. You’ve sorted the preliminary details, but a long road still lies ahead of you in preparing to make this gig a night to remember for you and your audience. Your biggest practical concerns are going to be budgeting and promotion. Let’s talk about them side-by-side, as they are so intertwined. ...more

Even if you haven’t heard of them, you will almost certainly have heard their music. Australian band The Temper Trap have become a worldwide sensation over the past six months. Having released their album ‘Conditions’ midway through last year, they’ve toured the world, had their single Sweet Disposition placed in hit American indie movie 500 Days of Summer (along with a bunch of other TV shows and ads) and played an impressive list of festivals. Closer to home they recently played the Big Day Out tour and their music will be seeping into your subconscious via placement in some TV3 promotional ads. Why are we interested in even a hugely successful Australian band? Well we’re actually interested in Joseph Greer – a Kiwi who became a touring member of the band in March 2008, playing guitar, keys and percussion for the five-piece. NZM asked Joseph to fill us in on how it all happened. ...more

Fearful for the future of his people, King Tubby sent his most trusted advisor to recruit the Knights of the DUB Table…who would honour and protect his way of life, and the way of the DUB (Dedication, Unity, Brotherhood).” ...more

Auckland’s Mile High members having all been jamming in their bedrooms (with or without instruments) since a young age, finally finding each other and forming as a five-piece in late 2008. From there it’s been a quick take off, with their first single Now getting noticed with radio play on The Rock and Zone FM, along with appearances on Sunrise, The Big Night In and C4, also recently performing at the Big Day Out. ...more

The smooth dusky vocals of 24 year old Sacha Vee have garnered comparisons with Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Billie Holiday and our own Hollie Smith (all of whom she draws inspiration from), but Vee is not one to be defined by comparisons. Having recently released her debut self-titled EP and toured the country, she is gaining recognition for her versatility and polish – which has been developed over a lifetime of musical exposure and collaboration. ...more

What are the common threads between 17 years of event promotion in the South Island, seven years of criminal law practice, Christchurch student radio station RDU and the University of Canterbury Student Association (UCSA) 2010 events calendar? The answer: James Meharry and Karyn South, the couple behind seminal Christchurch event promotion company Fabel, also the current directors of RDU and by virtue of these associations student event co-ordinators to the UCSA. The couple spoke to Martyn Pepperell about how they balance these various roles. ...more

As described in the New Zealand On Air advertising feature elsewhere in this issue, there are a number of changes planned and underway to the agency’s off shore music promotional strategy known as Phase Five. The changes come in response to a report completed in November last year by Chris Caddick, a former head of EMI NZ, who was engaged by NZOA to independently appraise the programme as it neared four years of operation. The resulting ‘Caddick Report’ concludes with a number of recommendations regarding how the Phase Five might be better managed in the future, including a name change. Having considered the report the NZOA board and management have acted promptly to address the concerns and misgivings expressed by some of the industry insiders polled and highlighted in the report. ...more

MusicHy.pe is a new website which is shaking up the music industry. Started by a bunch of like minded creatives and entrepreneurs in Wellington five months ago, with the help of funding from another Wellington-based company called WebFund, MusicHy.pe intends to service both music fans and bands, drawing them together in a range of ways. Currently still running in beta mode, the website launched in early February, and has kicked off by running various competitions with The Mint Chicks and releasing their new EP ‘Bad Buzz’. Having finished their contract with Warner/Flying Nun with the release of ‘Screens’ a year ago, The Mint Chicks were keen to explore alternative ways to release and distribute their new work, and have signed up with MusicHy.pe who will be releasing their EP online and also as a custom designed USB stick. NZM asked Annabel Youens (MusicHy.pe’s communications manager) and Ruban Nielson of The Mint Chicks a few questions each to find out a bit more about this new concept. ...more

More mosh, less dosh’ it colourfully says on the business card of Adam McArthur, the managing director of innovative Australian event ticketing enterprise Moshtix. Normally Sydney-based, McArthur was in Auckland over the first few hot days of February to talk with the interested press about moshtix, which was simultaneously announcing its arrival in this country while servicing Christchurch’s Sounday festival. ...more

Harry Russell has had the moniker 'ratbag' for as long as I have known him. He was the 'legend in his own lunchtime' as immortalised in the rare single recorded by The Gurlz in the early 1980s. As John Dix writes in Stranded in Paradise Harry was a 'Remuera schoolboy caught in the politics of punk'. Also a regular contributor to Rip It Up, he played in the legendary Herco Pilots, and released their 7” vinyl gems on his own REM label. Harry coined the phrase 'where there's a wall, there's a way' for his postering service and like most of us back then, hung out with anyone, anywhere and anytime where there was a free bar tab. Harry prophetically lived in the Brooklyn building in Emily Place, central Auckland. ...more

Getting paid is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of any deal you enter into. In this edition of The Lawful Truth we’re going to discuss some of the key issues you need to be alert to whenever you are negotiating payment provisions in music industry contracts. ...more

Okay, so the title sounds a bit like The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, but there’s something fantasy-like about both. It’s all about the note ‘g’. ...more