Tāmaki Makaurau-based band Dick Move say the funds will allow them to expand their tour further and even include three "all ages" shows. Photo / Frances Carter
Delaney Davidson, Bic Runga, Blindspott and The Black Seeds are among 20 local acts who have secured funding to tour Aotearoa, with NZ On Air announcing first-round recipients from their New Music Project Touring grant.
The pilot fund, conceived with support from the New Zealand Music Commission, aims to help local artists take their music on the road – to connect with audiences via live performances promoting an album or EP release.
NZ On Air received 36 grant applications requesting nearly $1.2 million in funds. The pool had $500,000 available and requests from 10 solo artists and 10 groups were approved.
Open to artists who had received NZ On Air New Music Project Touring (NMPT) funding but not yet released their project, the fund issued grants up to $50,000 which could cover up to 50% of headline touring costs including transport, accommodation, marketing, production, venue hire and session musician fees.
Teresa Patterson, head of music at NZ On Air, says demand for the pilot “speaks volumes”. She hopes the NMPT can counteract some of the pressures facing the live music scene.
“Costs have soared in the last five years, ticket-buying habits have shifted with audiences buying tickets later, which makes touring really challenging and high-risk for artists. That has meant that many artists have scaled back or even avoided touring altogether,” Patterson said.
“Having this dedicated fund provides support to those artists so that they can expand their tour further into the regions around Aotearoa, reaching broader audiences, keep their ticket prices down or, in some instances, be able to tour at all.”
Auckland party punk band Dick Move are one of the acts to receive funding through the initiative, funding a tour timed with the release of their third album Dream, Believe, Achieve.
Band member Lucy Macrae told the Herald that first and foremost, the funding will help them keep ticket prices accessible “both for our fans and the venues – which is crucial in the current climate".
“We want to get as many people into the spaces supporting, connecting, socialising and having a great time!”
As a result of the grant, they were able to expand their tour “into more regions, new venues around the motu [nation] and three all-ages shows”. So far, the band have played Auckland, Raglan and Tauranga, with dates to follow in Ōtautahi, Ōtepoti, Pōneke (Wellington) and Whangārei.
Ash Wallace and Gabriel Everett of pop music duo Foley say opportunities to gig offer mutual benefits.
“Live performance not only connects us to our audience – it also connects the audience to each other.
“Especially with the digital world, it’s even more important to have shared experiences with the people around you and be part of a real-life community. Live music is powerful in that sense and it’s so important to keep that alive.”
Anthony Metcalf, a booking agent, tour manager and director of event promotions group 100% GOOD, welcomed the dedicated touring fund, saying upfront touring costs mean for many artists, touring is simply not realistic.
“Costs are going up and appetites from audiences to try new things are going down. The cost of living [is] affecting artists and audiences equally, as entertainment budgets are stretched. It would boggle peoples’ minds to know what even a modest 400-500 capacity tour costs in the back end,” Metcalf said.
He said while New Zealand is 80% smaller that Australia in terms of population, it is considerably more costly to tour New Zealand, with less guarantee of pulling a crowd.
Paterson says the fund hopes to counteract not only rising costs, but also increased competition from offshore.
“There has been an influx of international artists touring, with high ticket prices, which compete for the live dollar ... it’s designed to help bridge this gap, making it possible for artists to tour without compromising on production quality or accessibility.”
Macrae appreciates this aspiration.
“It’s awesome to see huge acts like Metallica selling out stadiums, but when tickets are $400 a pop – and that’s before babysitting, drinks, travel – the cost of those big nights out can drain the live-music ecosystem.
“It’s the smaller independent shows that suffer, even though they’re the ones that actually keep the scene alive (and the artists are the future Metallicas!)”
Abi Symes, who manages The Stomach, a rehearsal space, recording studio and all-ages live music venue in Palmerston North, says helping artists tour communities that often miss out facilitates more equitable access to live music across the board.
“That not only strengthens regional venues like The Stomach but also creates valuable opportunities for local support acts and audiences to connect!”
Symes says even greater impact will come from funding that offers consistency and scale.
“I’d love to see more investment in the infrastructure that supports all-ages, alcohol-free music venues! It starts with venue funding and technical training to measures that keep young people safe.“
Macrae says their funding has helped Dick Move pay the artists they played with fairly, invest more into marketing and hire proper backline (the musical instruments and equipment needed to play a live show, not including the sound systems), instead of only begging and borrowing, and they’d love to see more artists able to access government funding.
“It doesn’t just help one tour, it strengthens the whole live-music ecosystem and benefits everyone through things like job creation, tax revenue, cultural output, social connection and even development pathways into export.
“We need to invest back into this level of performance to ensure it thrives – research shows that the live performance sector contributes at least $17.3 billion in social and economic value."
Patterson says this first round of funding is a start. “It’s a significant step toward making touring viable for these artists and helping them reach new fans, and we are thrilled to be able to confirm another round of this touring fund for 2026.”
Metcalf says that to move the needle meaningfully, greater long-term support is needed across the breadth of the live music ecosystem.
“The only way to truly fix live music is to fix [the] cost of living. As soon as people feel comfortable to spend their discretionary income on going out to shows, everyone wins.”
Solo artists:
• alayna
• Bic Runga
• Delaney Davidson
• Deva Mahal
• Kaylee Bell
• Mel Parsons
• Muroki
• Rei
• Sola Rosa
• Theia
Groups:
• Beastwars
• Blindspott
• Borderline
• Corrella
• Dick Move
• Earth Tongue
• Foley
• PARK RD
• Rhian Sheehan & Arli Liberman
• The Black Seeds
The second round of NMPT will open in April next year, with decisions announced in early July.