The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by

Recorded Music NZ 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 ...

, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that a group or artist can receive in

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 ...

, and have been presented annually since 1965. The awards show is presented by Recorded Music NZ. A range of award sponsors and media partners support the event each year.

History and overview

The first awards for New Zealand recorded music were the

Loxene Golden Disc The Loxene Golden Disc was an annual New Zealand music award. It ran from 1965 to 1972. It was superseded by the Recording Arts Talent Awards (RATA). Background The awards launched in 1965 and is the forerunner of the New Zealand Music Awards. It ...

awards, launched in 1965. The awards were created by soap powder manufacturer

Reckitt & Colman Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...

's advertising agency, with support from the

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

(NZBC), the New Zealand Federation of Phonographic Industries and the Australasian Performing Rights Society (APRA), with the awards named after Reckitt & Colman's anti-dandruff shampoo, Loxene. While initially only one prize was given, other awards were added, including categories for record cover, recording artist of the year, and a producer award. From 1970, two awards were given - one to a solo artist, the other to a group however there was still just one supreme award, selected from these two. The Loxene Golden Disc awards continued until 1972 when the New Zealand Federation of Phonographic Industry decided to institute its own system; these awards became known as the

Recording Arts Talent Awards The Recording Arts Talent Awards (RATA) were an annual award honouring excellence in recorded New Zealand music. The RATAs ran from 1973 to 1976, before being replaced by the RIANZ Awards. History The RATAs were founded in 1973 when the New Ze ...

(RATA). From 1978 the awards became known as the RIANZ Awards after the NZFPI changed its name to the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). In 1996 and 1997 the awards were merged with the Entertainer of the Year Awards and were known as the Clear Music and Entertainment Awards, sponsored by

Clear Communications Clear Communications was a telecommunications company based in New Zealand. Until merging into Telstra's operations in 2001, it was the biggest rival to Telecom New Zealand. Background Prior to 1987, New Zealand's telecommunications sector ...

. From 1998 the awards reverted to music only, with the name going back to the New Zealand Music Awards and the award trophy nicknamed the Tui. Also in 1999 Coca-Cola New Zealand became the naming rights sponsor of the awards, known as the Coca-Cola New Zealand Music Awards for one year only. Since 2004, the show's principal sponsor has been

Vodafone New Zealand Vodafone New Zealand Limited is a New Zealand telecommunications company. It was a subsidiary of the London-listed company Vodafone Plc until 31 July 2019, when its sale to a consortium comprising Infratil Limited and Brookfield Asset Manageme ...

. With Vodafone's sponsorship, the awards became known as the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards (VNZMA's). In 2008 the awards ceremony moved to

Vector Arena Spark Arena (also known as Auckland City Arena, and formerly as Vector Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station. The ar ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Prior to this move the event was primarily invitation only, and the increased size of the Vector Arena enabled the event to be attended both by invitation and by the public through sale tickets. While the Loxene Golden Disc award was televised in the 1970s, broadcasting of the contemporary award ceremony started in 2004. In 2020, the awards were renamed the Aotearoa Music Awards.

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame

Created in 2007 in conjunction with the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame pays tribute to those who have "shaped, influenced and advanced popular music in New Zealand." Two musicians or groups are inducted into the hall each year, one at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards, decided by APRA, and the other is the winner of the Legacy Award at the Aotearoa Music Awards, selected by Recorded Music NZ.

Critics Choice award

Awarded from 2010 until 2016, the Critics' Choice Prize was given to artists who were expected to be successful in the music industry in the future. To be eligible for the award, an artist must have neither released a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

nor have been nominated for a New Zealand Music Award in the past.

List of ceremonies

Winners by year

1965-1972

1973-1976

1978-current

* Album of the Year * Single of the Year * Best Group * Best Solo Artist * Breakthrough Artist of the Year * Best Alternative Artist * Best Children's Album * Best Classical Artist *

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors ...

* Best Electronic Artist *

Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several ...

* Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist * Best Jazz Album * Best Māori Artist * Best Pacific Music Album * Best Pop Artist * Best Rock Artist * Best Roots Artist * Best Soul/RnB Artist * Best Worship Artist * Highest Selling New Zealand Artist * Radio Airplay Record of the Year * International Achievement *

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

* Critics' Choice Prize * Legacy Award ; Artisan Awards * Best Album Cover *

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

* Best Engineer *

Best Producer Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

References

* ''For The Record: a history of the recording industry in New Zealand'', B. Staff & S. Ashley, David Bateman, Auckland, 2002,

External links

NZ Music Awards websiteAudioCulture Loxene Golden Disc historyAudioCulture Music Awards History
{{Music awards Music Awards, New Zealand New Zealand music awards