News for October from the NZMIC

While we're starting to get towards the tail-end of the year it's not just Christmas on the NZMIC horizon but a chocka few months between then and now…

Warrant Of Fitness

The NZMIC are very pleased to announce this year's Warrant Of Fitness seminar series that will feature offshore-based speakers discussing what makes acts internationally 'roadworthy'. A number of speakers will be coming our way to share their expertise, the first three being Sean Adams (Founder of Drowned In Sound), Huw Stephens (BBC Radio1 DJ), and Anna Jacobson-Leong (Artist Manager - Lou Reed, Le Tigre, Die! Die! Die! - NYC)

Additional speakers and further details will be announced shortly, in the meantime here are the Warrant Of Fitness dates for your diaries:

Wednesday November 22nd - Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium
Thursday November 23rd - Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium
Friday November 24th - Wellington City Art Gallery
Saturday November 25th - CPIT Jazz School

If you've got any specific topics you'd like to see included, email the NZMIC: info@nzmusic.org.nz

Mentoring

The Music Mentors in Schools Programme is approaching a significant milestone. The programme promotes NZ contemporary popular music in schools by providing placements of professional musicians acting as mentors - and this month will see the number of mentors reach one hundred!

Each year thousands of students from around 80 schools nationwide benefit from visits by musician mentors including the likes of Shona Laing, King Kapisi, Jimmy Christmas (D4), Hollie Smith, Marcus Powell (Blindspott), Mahinaarangi Tocker, David Kilgour, Feleti Strickson-Pua, Charlotte Yates, DJ Poroufessor, Wayne Mason, Mina Repia, Billy TK Junior, Hera, Flip Grater, Sara-Jane Auva'a, and Mark Vanilau to name a few.
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Offshore Trade Shows

There are a number of upcoming trade shows taking place offshore that are on the NZMIC's radar.

The NZMIC's International Manager Gary Fortune will be at CMJ in New York at the end of this month. NZ artists Die! Die! Die! and Over The Atlantic are performing as part of this year's CMJ Music Marathon.

The NZ presence at MIDEM in France next January is being planned at the moment. If you're a NZ company  interested in attending, please get in touch with Tom Clark.

Artists who want to play South By Southwest next March need to apply ASAP. Applications must be made online here and they close for non-US bands on October the 24th - don't be too late!

SXSW And Rockquest On TV

To get a better idea of what things look like on the ground at SXSW, check out a not-entirely-serious documentary following Flight Of The Conchords' experiences earlier this year. The show, called Flight Of The Conchords - A Texan Odyssey airs on TV3 at 9.30pm on Thursday October 19.

Congratulations to Neil Robinson (the band, not the man) winners of this year's Smokefree Rockquest. Catch highlights of this year's national final this Friday at 7.30pm on C4.

Outward Sound

The next round of Outward Sound applications closes October 31st. Check out our website for more information.

And what do the USA, Finland, UK, Serbia, Russia, and Australia have in common? This month they're treated to shows by some of Outward Sound's previously funded artists including Greg Johnson, Evermore, The Phoenix Foundation, Minuit, Black Seeds, and Concord Dawn.

OK, that's it for now... We'll be back in touch soon!

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