February NZ On Air music funding decisions

In this fourth round for the year, they received a lighter than usual load of applications, with 90 songs submitted.  Of the 90 applications, 34 projects made it to the first shortlist.

25 projects are to be funded in this round.  The successful applications are listed below.  Each project will get $5,000 to make a music video.  Decisions are based on the airplay potential of the song and the strategic value of the music video to the radio airplay campaign.  Airplay potential is measured by first testing the songs with the music video broadcasters and then we factor in current radio priorities.

This funding year, NZ On Air are trying something new with the New Recording Artists scheme.  Instead of funding 40 projects at $5,000 each, they are funding 20 projects at $10,000 each - $5,000 to record a radio single and an additional (conditional) $5,000 for a music video to support the release of the song.

That means that they are looking for just five projects in each of the four funding rounds in this funding year.

In this third funding round under the new rules, they got a lighter than usual load, receiving 176 applications.  The first shortlisting produced 26 songs, the second 17 and the third gave them the final ten.

Each of the final ten was then invited to give us more information about the project and their plans for the song.

The five projects with the best combination of commercial radio airplay potential and a convincing plan for the recording, release and promotion of the song get the new $10,000 new artist funding package.  The five successful projects from the February round are -

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Radio Hits
[based on airplay in the October/December 2006 quarter]

In this Radio Hits funding round, NZ On Air will do the usual five projects.

Thesesongs have picked up significant airplay on commercial radio in the fourth quarter of 2006.  Each project will get $5,000 (or the actual cost of recording and releasing the single, whichever is the lesser).

Decisions are based on analysing the RadioScope airplay charts, which are in turn based on airplay returns from 146 radio stations around the country  - however, songs that have picked up significant airplay in this quarter but have already been funded via the Phase Four Album or New Recordings schemes are not also eligible for Radio Hits funding.

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