AudioCulture is a

New Zealand On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

funded online project billed as the "''Noisy Library of New Zealand Music''". Working with artists, historians and music industry people, the website tells the story of nearly 100 years of New Zealand popular music culture, from the first local recordings in the 1920s to digital streaming. The website launched on 31 May 2013, with 250 published pages and since then has been growing steadily with new pages and stories added regularly.

Organisation

The site was conceived and founded by

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including b ...

industry historian and pioneer

Simon Grigg Simon Grigg (born 1955) is a New Zealand music businessman, writer, broadcaster, publisher, producer, DJ and archivist. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he attended Palmerston North Boys High, Auckland Grammar and the University of Auckland. P ...

. Grigg first conceived an online database of New Zealand music in the late 2000s and spent much of the next few years seeking funding and gathering support from the music industry in New Zealand. Backed by

Recorded Music New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

he approached various funding bodies but was repeatedly turned down. Finally, in 2012

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

agreed to fund the site. AudioCulture was placed under the wing of the same trust that's in charge of the sibling project

NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...

but the content was curated and directed by Grigg, now named as Creative Director. Under Grigg, content was created by some 35 writers and contributed to by a large number of photographers. AudioCulture has partnerships with The National Library of New Zealand and

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

. In September 2016, Grigg resigned as Creative Director, handing the role to New Zealand writer and historian Chris Bourke. Grigg retains a position as founding editor.

References

External links

AudioCulture Website
Music organisations based in New Zealand New Zealand digital libraries 2013 establishments in New Zealand Internet properties established in 2013 {{NewZealand-media-stub