Local Boy Does Good.

Things are pretty exciting in the ol' NZ music scene at the moment. Lots of great new releases and a bunch of successful acts heading to the "greener" pastures of the US and UK.

Its not necessarily a good thing - at least for us still in Kiwiland. Artists are forced into making some tough choices if they wish to live off what they do. Financially its just not an option to stick around hoping to do well of album sales and touring locally. So its either take a knock to your credibility and sell some of your songs to advertisers (Recloose, SJD) or hit the road in the hope of making it big in the international market (Mint Chicks, Liam Finn...).

They both have major drawbacks.

Say you decide that you want t o hang around, and you sell a song or 2 to advertisers. The ads play on heavy rotation in prime time, and your credibility is shot, your song becomes played to death, or you end up forever associated with some product. A huge hurdle to get over. If you're a new or up-and-coming artist is can forever tarnish your reputation.

So say you take the other route. Head off to the UK on the back of a decent release and some touring at home. You spend months away from home, usually at enourmous cost to yourself, with only a small hope of getting "noticed". You might have been able to eek out a living in NZ touring, but in Europe no-one has heard of you and no-one is booking you to play.

Still, there are some decent success stories:

Liam Finn recently ROCKED the Late Show with David Letterman



Katchafire head over to the US on the back of some decent success in Hawaii, starting with a SXSW spot at the end of this month.

Recloose has just released a sterling new album, despite having a song thrashed in a Telecom commercial a couple of years ago. (It was Telecom right?)



SJD's brilliant "Songs from a Dictaphone" album continues to be the under-rrated masterpiece of the last couple of years, never mind turning up on the Buy NZ Made campaign ads, and the Monteiths commericals.



The biggest tragedy is that the artists are forced into these corners. I'd love to hear of more NZ musicians successes.