No Kiwi international hit in 15 years – How bizarre. Or is it?

BigCake’s challenge to the New Zealand music industry in Music Month is to produce a worldwide Kiwi hit in the next 12 months.

Tours of eastern Europe don’t count.

It’s time Music Month organisers, the New Zealand Music Commission, and musos got more ambitious than the event’s wimpy current goal of growing awareness of homegrown music by upping the exposure of Kiwi musicians.

The original goal, to lift the proportion of Kiwi music played on commercial radio, has been smashed. Unless you live under a rock in an old person’s home in Eketahuna, you’ll have heard and remembered at least one or two Kiwi music acts.

And anyone with more than a passing interest in music will be know that the local music scene is as hot as it has ever been.

Awareness is sky high now, so lift your sights guys and gals.

Grab your guitars and go global. It’ll also lift your profile at home by more than any repackaging of existing tours and one-off gigs as some sort of national event.

The last true international Kiwi hit was Pauly Fuemana and the Otara Millionaires Club’s ‘How Bizarre’ back in 1995. Apologies to Savage, Evermore, Gin Wigmore etc.

Music is important not just because it makes us want to dance, sing, yell, cry, bang our heads or whatever.

It can also be about money, big money if you do it right.

You don’t hear this much these days, but our music industry is an export industry, and not just in sending musos to base themselves in Australia to make a living.

Famously (though perhaps not actually) the earnings of ABBA were greater than Sweden’s other international icon, Volvo. Anyway, they earned enough to register in the nation’s gdp.

BigCake can’t find any figures, but Jamaica’s economy must have hugely benefited from reggae. Now the government is worried that if steps are not taken immediately, Jamaica and reggae may no longer be synonymous.

Music can also good be good for a country’s image – think Jamaica, Detroit and Nashville in the US. Music has made them appear more interesting places than they are.

What Governments can do (and not do) to boost domestic music is interesting. In the case of Jamaica, the government couldn’t prevent the death of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

But Governments can have a positive influence in areas like local quotas on commercial radio. Canada (lost in the long shadow of the US) I think has always been the poster child of quotas, though with the likes of Justin Bieber and Celine Dion you have to wonder. They produced Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pre quotas – go figure.

Australia, which introduced quotas in the 1970s, spawned INXS, The Little River Band, Nick Cave, ACDC…

New Zealand? Not a Bieber.

For a while back in 2003 the Clark Labour Government did try to do something about this with the establishment of the Music Industry Export Development Group. 

The group, which included people like Brent Hansen, then chair of MTV Europe and Mike Chunn, wrung $5.4 million a year for music development out of the government.

Still not a Bieber.

BigCake is a Kiwi rock fan from way back.(First Kiwi record purchased, the Screaming Mee Mees’ ‘If this is paradise, I’ll take the bag’. Yeah, yeah that was 1982.)

He thinks the problem lies at the business end rather than with the musos who have made some great music.

The “[Flying] Nun cult of shambling amateurism”, as described by Sneaky Feeling’s Matthew Bannister, is still too common (and not only in the music industry).

Can governments fix this? Not much, in the same way they can’t grow entrepreneurs or raise a business’s sights.

We await a Kiwi Sam Phillips, Gordy Berry, Malcolm McLaren or 50 Cent.

In the meantime, saw The Checks on the Documentary Channel (Guitars from the leafy suburb) the other night. BigCake’s hope is that talent will out.