Hawke’s Bay’s compilation vinyl album: Big chance to showcase musical talent

Hawke's Bay artist Richard Boyd-Dunlop with his album cover – Under the Sun Vol.4.

Fancy your chances of having an original song included in possibly the best Hawke’s Bay’s compilation album?

Hawke’s Bay Music Hub is currently accepting submissions for Under the Sun Vol. 4 – Hawke’s Bay’s compilation album for 2024, which is to be launched in launched February 25.

So, if you’ve got your creative juices flowing, the hub can’t wait to hear what you’ve created.

The Backline Charitable Trust along with their funders Lion Foundation and Grassroots Trust Central, have initiated a project to produce a Hawke’s Bay compilation vinyl record. This is a showcase of Hawke’s Bay artists and will reflect the diversity and quality of new and established musicians producing original music in the region.

It’s a rare chance for up-and-coming artists to be featured alongside established acts and applicants are invited to submit one song, after which the judging panel will review the entries and select. The selected tracks will be mastered at Munki Studios in Wellington.

Then a limited number (300) physical copies of the compilation will be produced and given away to market the Hawke’s Bay artists, with all receiving a physical copy of the record.

The selected panel will be made up of current music industry representatives with a diverse backgrounds and perspectives and will be considering works that are produced to a high level, contribute to a cohesive collection that is representative of the Hawke’s Bay music scene and holistically meets the panel’s standards for the global music industry.

They are working on 10 songs for the album.

To be eligible you need to be an artist who is either from or has spent a proportionate amount of time in Hawke’s Bay, with the rights of all music and masters being owned by the artists.

All entries will be registered with APRA prior to submission. Your ISRC number needs to be included as part of your submission.

What about digital presence?

Each artist will need to release their track digitally or prior to or alongside the compilation release.

This will allow a shareable playlist to be created which can then be shared through HBMH’s online channels and are wanting to release some singles off the record via DRM (Digital Rights Managers NZ). The compilation record itself will not be released in any format other than vinyl.

Songs can be submitted that were produced from August 21, 2023–October 31, 2024.

For project timing dates, code of conduct and how you need to submit your music, email: hawkesbaymusichub@gmail.com