online music com - APRA

Australasian Performing 

Right Association Limited 

New Zealand Publication 

May 2008 

MARSHALL SMITH MAHINARANGI TOCKER S3 MOMENTS IN MUSIC

When we lose dear friends like 

Mahinarangi Tocker it makes us 

realise how important music can be. 

Mahinarangi chose music as her art 

and through music she illustrated all 

things beautiful and difficult about 

living in New Zealand, about being a 

woman, about being gay, about 

being Maori, (but not all Maori) and 

about suffering from mental illness. 

Talented, generous people like Mahinarangi are too few and 

we all are touched by an enormous sadness without her. We 

celebrate her life further in the APRAP. 

Mahinarangi often embraced te reo in her music and we 

search for others to continue this legacy in this year’s Maioha 

Award at the Silver Scroll Awards in September. Entry forms 

are enclosed in this APRAP for the Silver Scroll, Maioha and 

SOUNZ Contemporary Awards. This has been a huge year 

for New Zealand music and the Silver Scroll Award in 

September will celebrate this. Remember you must enter to 

take part. 

This month also has seen the amendments to the 

Copyright Act finally passed in Parliament. Having been 

involved in these copyright law changes we are relatively 

happy with the outcomes. Much media focus has been on 

the new format shifting provisions and whilst there is some 

benefit to the public, we maintain that some compensation to 

rights holders should have accompanied these new 

exclusions. We are however happier with the amended ISP 

liability provisions. These will be crucial to the future of digital 

music and we look forward to working closely with the ISPs 

as they develop processes for dealing with large scale and 

persistent infringers. 

Anthony Healey Director of NZ Operations APRA|AMCOS 

The big issue for songwriters (and 

the wider music industry, and for 

that matter all of the “content” 

industries) is the level of 

responsibility that ought to be 

borne by Internet Service Providers 

(ISPs) for illegal online content. 

At long last, governments 

around the world are beginning to 

wake up to the fact that ISPs and 

telcos have made billions of dollars facilitating the illegal 

trade in music (and more recently films) while writers, 

artists, publishers and distributors watch their industry and 

income sources wither. 

There are a number of positive signs in New Zealand, 

Australia and internationally: the new Australian Labour 

Government has indicated it is prepared to examine the 

current British threestrike proposal (resulting in infringing uploaders’ 

internet connections being cut-off) if warnings are 

ignored. ISPs have been successfully sued in a number of 

countries, French ISPs and copyright owners have reached 

an accord on reasonable disconnection protocols, and 

technology which will block subscribers’ access to unlawful 

content and re-direct to lawful content is rapidly evolving. All 

that is really required to end the culture and era of “free 

music” is some pro-active goodwill on the part of ISPs, 

backed by a workable legislative regime… and it’s coming. 

Brett Cottle CEO APRA|AMCOS 

HAPPY MUSIC MONTH! 

www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz 

CONTENTS 

Member Profile: Marshall Smith ......................3 

APRA Silver Scroll ...........................................9 

SOUNZ .........................................................13 

Member Services ...........................................4 

Creative Commons .......................................10 

Australian News ............................................14 

APR AP MAY 2008 

2 

Postcards from Afar ........................................6 

Arthur Baysting: Folk Music ............................7 

Song Summit Sydney .....................................8 

Online Music Competitions ...........................10 

Where do the $$ come from?.......................12 

International Notes ........................................12 

Obituary: Mahinarangi Tocker .......................15 

Moments in Music ........................................16

MEMBER PROFILE 

Marshall Smith 

Songwriter, performer and producer of original music 

for recording artists, film, TV, and advertising. 

Silver Scroll finalist in 2004 with Grey Boy. 

APRA member since 2002. 

What is it you value most about 

music? 

The sense of freedom and joy that it can 

create for its audience and me. 

What are you currently working on? 

An album my company (formed with 

songwriter/producer Tom Fox) The Sound 

Room produced recently for a band we 

are in called ‘The New Freedom’ is due 

for release in May this year. We are doing 

all the fun stuff like creating the first video 

for the first single (thanks to NZ On Air!) 

and trying to figure out how to release an 

actual album in the current music climate! 

Adee Keil (Nesian Mystik, Adeaze) has 

come on board to manage the band 

recently also which is terrific. 

Composition and production wise 

Tom and I are completing a hip-hop 

album with Auckland artist Element, 

collaborating on an international soul/ 

r&b/electronica project Soulkiss; 

creating music for what I think is our 8th 

online and mobile phone computer 

game in the last 6 months for Palmerston 

North gaming company Pixelthis, foley & 

SFX for an animated short film In The 

Name of Art written and directed by 

Mardo El-Noor; recording vocals for 

some of local DJ producer Timmy 

Schumacher’s new tracks and 

completing some tracks for local 

production music publisher Woodcut – 

our company’s 5th publishing deal and 

first NZ-based one! 

What are you listening to? 

Really enjoying The Shins last album, 

Mavis Staples newie, KT Tunstall’s 

latest is still on heavy rotation, along 

with favourite albums of last 6 months 

by Razorlight, Missy Higgins and 

Suzanne Vega. 

What is your favourite film that is 

about music or is it a musical? 

I really struggle with musicals as a 

genre – I generally feel a bit queasy 

around them! (Although is it ok to admit 

to quite enjoying Hairspray?!) There 

were some fantastic music biopics 

lately all great – especially Ray and 

Walk The Line but probably the finest 

one of the lot was the Standing in the 

Shadow of Motown doco film about the 

Funk Brothers – absolutely amazing 

and inspiring. 

What is your favourite book/website 

about music? 

I’m not sure I have a favourite website – 

but somewhere between the ever 

present youtube and myspace I guess 

is where I spend most of my online 

music time... 

What is the best live performance 

you’ve ever been to, whether you 

were performing or not? 

Peter Gabriel at Glastonbury definitely 

stands out. 

What is the quickest piece you have 

written and which piece took the 

longest to write? 

The first single from our band The New 

Freedom coming out in May called What 

I Need flowed magically out of us all 

really, it’s very pure, very lyrical and 

heartfelt. There are countless unfinished 

songs on pads, dictaphones, ipods, 

envelopes, napkins, answering 

machines, hard drives and various brains 

that sit unloved at any given time. By the 

band’s second album I’m sure at least 10 

of them are bound to be finished! 

Who have been your greatest 

musical influences? 

My key influences are artists like Stevie 

Wonder, Aretha Franklin, early Prince, 

Shawn Colvin, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, 

Eurythmics... but other influences 

change daily! 

What is your most marked 

characteristic as a songwriter? 

I think primarily as a lyricist. I think my 

ability to tell a story with lyrics and to 

focus on the development of that story 

throughout a given song is one my key 

strengths. 

Who would you most like to 

collaborate with and why? 

Down the line I would love to collaborate 

with a producer/writer called John 

Leventhal. He produced and co-wrote 

some of my favourite albums with Shawn 

Colvin, Joan Osborne and Mark Cohn 

amongst others. He has a particular 

production style that I love and is a 

stunning arranger and guitarist. Anyone 

know him?! 

What’s your favourite piece (that 

you’ve written)? 

I think probably the song I’m most 

proud of is a song called Lowlands off 

our bands upcoming album. I wrote it 

in the depths of an English winter in 

my basement flat in London – 

picturing the lowlands being flooded 

and the world ending... it’s more 

uplifting than it sounds! 

What piece written by another writer 

do you wish you and written and why? 

There are so many! Hell I’d start with 

Let’s Stay Together by Al Green and 

Andy by Don McGlashan and the 

Front Lawn. 

What is the quality you most admire 

in a composer/songwriter? 

Timelessness. 

What is the best career advice you 

were ever given? 

Write what you need to write not what 

you think you should write. 

If you were not a composer/ 

songwriter, what might you have 

ended up doing? 

Hmm probably an architect or a very 

uninspired graphic designer? But that’s 

all academic now! 

Visit Marshall’s production company at 

www.thesoundroom.co.nz ; 

his band The New Freedom at 

www.thenewfreedom.com : debut single 

from the upcoming album a thousand 

nights out this month. 


3

Petrina George 

Manager, Member Services 

APRA|AMCOS 

IT’S AWARD SEASON 


MEMBER SERVICES 

4 

FLIGHT OF THE 

CONCHORDS 

APRA extends huge congratulations to 

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement for 

their success as the aptly named Flight of 

the Conchords. Whilst New Zealanders, in 

particular Wellingtonians, have been 

enjoying the music and comedic stylings of 

this duo for some time now, it is fantastic 

to see them embraced by the USA and 

2008 Dates To Remember 

also the world. They’ve revealing a new 

musical side to New Zealand’s international 

sound and taking on the world in this field. 

The feat to have a television series made 

and broadcast in the USA is enormous 

itself, but to then be successful is the icing 

on the cake. Their latest accolade, the 

Grammy for Best Comedy Album will be 

the first of many acknowledgements for 

this talented pair. Bret and Jemaine – long 

may you fly! 

30 May: Country Music Awards 

31 May: S3 Pacific Music Awards 

23 June: APRA Silver Scroll, Maioha and Sounz Awards’ entries due 

31 July: Current year & backdated local Live Performance Returns (paper) 

31 July: Local Jingle Reporting Forms (online) 

31 August: Current year electronic local Live Performance Returns (online) 

14 October: ASCAP International Awards Programme 

Overseas Live Performance Returns (online) and Overseas Jingle 

Reporting Forms (online) have no fixed dates and need to be submitted 

immediately after the performances or broadcasts. 

Keep up to date via the Important Dates page on www.apra.co.nz 

SUPPLIED BY RHYTHMETHOD 

If any of your postal, email or bank details change – please tell us 

as soon as possible. We need this information to be up to date so we 

can contact you and more importantly, pay your royalties. Contact the 

Member Services team directly to update these details. 

APRA SILVER SCROLL AWARDS 

We are gearing up for the 2008 APRA Silver 

Scroll Awards. Check the details on page 9 

in this APRAP and we have enclosed the 

2008 entry form. Entries are due 23 June! 

We are maintaining the system 

introduced in 2007, where APRA members 

vote to determine the five finalists and 

winner. A judging panel will establish a top 

20 from all the entries and members will 

vote on these 20 songs. Voting details will 

be up on our website in July. Please take 

this opportunity to vote and confirm your 

favourite songwriters!! 

APRA SONG AWARDS 

As part of our Music Grants program, APRA 

NZ supports and sponsors three song 

awards. These are the APRA Best Pacific 

Song, APRA Best Country Music Song and 

the APRA Children’s Song of the Year that 

are presented at the S³ Pacific 

Music Awards, the Country 

Music Awards and StarFest 

respectively. 

The S³ Pacific Music 

Awards will be held on 

Saturday 31 May, at the Telstra 

Clear Pacific centre in Manukau City. Check 

the awards website: www. 

pacificmusicawards.org.nz for the 2008 

finalists and further details. 

The NZ Country Music Awards are on 

Friday 30 May; check www.goldguitars.co. 

nz for the list of finalists and 

more details about the country 

music events taking place in 

Gore from Monday 26 May to 

Sunday 1 June. 

The APRA Children’s Song 

of the Year award is being 

introduced this year and will be presented 

during KidsFest ’08 at the StarFest variety 

show on 18 July in Christchurch. Alongside 

this will be the presentation of the What 

Now NZ Children’s Video of the Year – with 

the winner determined by the viewers of 

What Now. Entries for these awards are due 

by 26 May. Our website will have further 

updates for these 

awards, including the 

announcement of all 

finalists.

PROFESSIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT AWARD 

CHONG-NEE’S TRIP TO 

THE STATES. 

I caught up with Huia Hamon from Kog, who 

confirmed John Chong-Nee (our 2007 

Professional Development Award recipient) will 

be heading to the States in June/July to scope 

out the American R’n’B scene and showcase 

his original Pacific flavour, supported by APRA. 

John will be joined by Chris Chetland and they 

will be meeting with long time friends and expat 

Kiwi’s such as Kirk Harding of Universal/ 

Motown. They have also made major links with 

American international artists in L.A. and New 

York to shop beats and set up future 

collaborations. Huia says that “both Chong- 

Nee and Chris are contributing toward a 

stronger network for our Pacific flavoured hiphop 

and R’n’B as well as establishing new 

hook ups through this journey”. 

I also talked with John and he confirmed 

some of the artists he will be meeting with, who 

include Monsta Gunjah, Booyah Tribe, Gangsta 

Ridd, Dru Down, Yuck Mouth and K-Ci (from K- 

ci and Jojo). John has been in touch with most 

of these artists by email, prior to this trip and 

says that “cos their work ethics are totally 

different, it’s fast, the people I’m dealing with 

are always wanting new music from me, but it’s 

funny when they start saying stuff like, ‘CAN 

YOU SEND IT NOW! CAN WE HAVE IT 

NOW!!?, HAVE YOU SENT IT YET!!?, WHEN 

ARE YOU SENDING IT!??’ its funny because, 

we’ll be just talking about songs, and I haven’t 

even made the song yet! But I know its gonna 

be good, just gonna do my best and give them 

my best.” When asked about his expectations 

for this trip, John says “no expectations really, 

just knowing I’ll be working with these people is 

overwhelming, I just hope I do justice…” 

We know that John will be fantastic and we 

can’t wait to hear the results of his collaborations 

with the USA artists. Our next edition of APRAP 

will include more details from John Chong-Nee 

about his USA experience. We will also 

announce details later in the year in regards to 

the 2009 Professional Development Award. 

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS 

One of the most frequently asked questions is 

“how to I get royalties from digital downloads?” 

And the answer is “through APRA and 

AMCOS”. You need to be a member of both 

societies, APRA (for the performing right) and 

AMCOS (for the mechanical right). In the 

majority of cases, the writers say “I am an 

APRA member but not an AMCOS member”. 

If this is the case for you – then you are 

missing out on your mechanical royalties, 

which are the more significant earnings from 

this type of use. Basically, you need to be an 

AMCOS member to receive these royalties. 

This is because the digital service providers, 

due to the volume of music involved, have 

decided not to directly pay individual 

songwriters and composers the mechanical 

royalties and are paying the earnings direct to 

AMCOS for them to allocate. 

How do you join? Simply contact the APRA 

office and ask for an AMCOS application pack 

and complete the application form. AMCOS 

membership is flexible and you specify the 

areas of income that you want AMCOS to 

administer for you – which will reflect how your 

music is being reproduced (recordings, 

ringtones, downloads etc). Where possible, we 

would also suggest coming to our office to 

complete your AMCOS membership 

application and to discuss your options in 

person. Please contact me in regards to any 

AMCOS membership queries. 

USE OF YOUR SONGS IN 

FILM & TELEVISION 

Have you been approached recently to place 

your song in a film or in a television episode? 

What terms did you negotiate? Did you sign a 

synchronisation agreement? For this type of 

use, we strongly recommend having a written 

agreement in place and this would be referred 

to as a synchronisation agreement. 

Here are the key details that you should 

include in your agreement: 

• the production title 

• the title of the musical work and the names 

of the copyright owners (plus confirmation 

that these details are within the 

productions credits) 

• the type of use: background, featured or 

theme music 

• type of media involved (TV, film, DVD etc) 

• details of the usage: duration, how the work 

is used within the production 

• the term of use, including commencement date 

• the territory involved 

• the fee paid for this use 

Contact me for a sample synchronisation 

agreement or to discuss the use of your music 

in film or television productions. 

Have Your Say… 

We will be contacting you soon 

about a member survey in regards 

to our services. We conduct 

these surveys with the aim of 

obtaining information to assess 

our existing services and to plan 

new services for the future. We 

work for you, so please take the 

time to return the survey and 

have your say about the services 

we provide. 

ELECTRONIC ROYALTIES 

APRA will cease making royalty payments by 

cheque from 1 January 2009, to streamline the 

royalty payment process and reduce costs. We 

are therefore encouraging our members to 

utilise the electronic payment option for royalty 

payments now. The electronic deposits are 

made directly to your nominated bank account, 

making the payments safe and secure. You will 

have immediate access to your earnings and 

within each distribution you are the first 

members to be paid. 

To take up this payment option – please 

provide your banking details to the Member 

Services team directly, or complete and return 

the Electronic Banking Form available on 

our website. 

Further to this work to limit expenses, the 

decision was made to provide all royalty 

statements electronically. This means your 

statement and remittance advice are provided 

online, accessed through our Members Login 

Facility on our website. Please note both 

documents will remain online for future access 

for your records or for tax purposes. If you 

require paper copies it is a simple matter of 

printing from the website. 

NZ MEMBER 

SERVICES 

EMAIL: nz@apra.com.au 

pgeorge@apra.com.au 

FREEPHONE: 0800 69 2772 

WEB: www.apra.co.nz 


5

As sent to Member Services 

KIA ORA! I arrived in the UK in 2006, and headed over to Spain and Italy, 

took my time travelling around and soaking up the atmosphere. I returned 

to London and started working at a casting agency (I worked on Sweeny Todd, 

The Other Boleyn Girl, Run Fat Boy Run and 28 Weeks Later – you can briefly 

see me on screen as an ‘infected’ in 28 Weeks). Now I’m back in music, 

working for a music composition house as their Head of Production, and I’ve 

joined the cast of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “Cinderella”. London 

is fantastic, I’ve met Maxi Priest and Annie Lennox, and Mick Jagger does 

his album pre-production at my work. There are amazing gigs and theatre, 

but to be totally honest, of the four most memorable gigs I’ve been to in 

London so far, two were Kiwis, Dave Dobbyn and Crowded House. I want to say 

hi to all the lovely peeps at APRA|AMCOS – dealing with PRS/MCPS in the UK 

has given me a whole new appreciation for you! I have been a little homesick 

this winter, but looking forward to my brother James’ visit in May with his 

band Collapsing Cities. 

Keep making music NZ, you sound like home, which is like no place else 

on earth. 

Renee Brennan 

We Sneaks have just had our first English winter, 

bloody awful season frankly, and I’m glad it’s almost 

over. Show attendance is small, you can see your 

breath inside, and English standoffishness as well 

as the cold make London winter especially crap. Fun, 

fun, fun! We played some cool shows through January 

though, and recorded a 3 song demo/single at Wall 

Of Shit Studios in February. Then after growing 

a moustache, I decided I’d had enough of the cold 

and jumped ship to join The Ruby Suns on their US 

tour. Texas first, SXSW and much needed sunshine, 

and then up the east coast supporting a band from 

Washington DC, Le Loup. Good news is so far our RV 

hasn’t shown any signs of catching fire, shows with 

17 people at them have been offset by shows with 700 

people at them, and all the crowds have been really 

responsive to the band. Nothing like a good Pitchfork 

review then! Heading back to London in a month for 

more Sneaks shows and to join up with James Milne’s 

Lawrence Arabia band – I’m really looking forward 

to playing his awesome songs – and also to eat more 

Halal Fried Chicken and experience the inevitable 

next day guilt about it. Tour rules actually, we’ve 

had some pretty sweet times. 

xxJames Dansey 


6 

Kia ora koutou, I am 

writing this from 

London where I am 

‘Musician in residence’ 

at the Centre for New 

Zealand Studies at the 

University of London. On 

my first night in London 

I met up with kiwi 

jazz keyboard player 

Duncan Haynes to rehearse for our gig the 

night after. Duncan is my main accompanist, 

along with Alisa Smith and Serenity Thurlow 

who flew in from Germany and Austria to be a 

part of my band (poi and viola). Our first gig 

was lots of fun, up at the Penthouse of New 

Zealand House, as a guest of the New Zealand 

Society. I am really amazed and grateful for 

the support from other NZ’ers here. Kiwis here 

are just awesome! I also met up with a kiwi 

music industry consultant, who has pointed me 

in the direction of loads of people. I also 

hope that this residency can help to create 

more awareness of Te Reo Maori and bilingual 

world music in the UK, and create further 

opportunities for other artists in the future. 

Thanks so much to Te Waka Toi/Creative NZ for 

this amazing experience and to Leyton for 

sharing his creative talents on Tuia. I will 

be back in time for NZ Music Month to release 

my new music video by Louise Potiki Bryant... 

Na, Ariana Tikao.

Arthur Baysting 

APRA Director 

There are a very few great philosophical 

puzzles. One might be, for instance, 

what is the exact nature of the universe? 

Another would be: Can we save the 

planet from climate catastrophe? And 

then perhaps the most perplexing of all: 

What Is Folk Music? 

Candles burn down and hard drives 

burn out; but still the definitions and 

justifications fly. Wikipedia has a lengthy 

explanation of the whole mess, including 

“Further Reading” (section twelve) which 

delves into genres 

like psychfolk and 

folktronica. 

A look at recent 

finalists in the Folk 

Album of the Year 

award demonstrate 

the range of music – 

everything from NZ bush ballads, Irish, 

country blues, Maori, Scottish, singersongwriters, 

and Celtic. 

But, as Dunedin folkie Mike Moroney 

says: “if you’re arguing about what folk is, 

you’re not getting on with it really.” And 

lately, a lot of Kiwi musicians are getting 

on with it. Mike’s website www.kiwifolk. 

com lists over sixty clubs and venues 

throughout the country and has links to 

scores of performers. Everyone I spoke to 

in the folk world agreed on one thing; folk 

is back. 

Mike thinks he knows why. “The big 

thing is the emergence 

of the alternative music 

scene. These musicians 

mightn’t even call 

themselves ‘folk’ but 

they play acoustic 

instruments and they 

want to play their songs 

in front of an audience. 

Thanks to open mic 

nights they’ve got a 

forum in the folk world.” 

Mike also believes 

that the clubs are good for the young 

singer-songwriters. “In bars often nobody 

listens, or they have to play loud to be 

heard over the punters. In a club 

everyone’s focussed on the performance. 

Suddenly they have to engage with the 

audience; it encourages them to develop 

performing skills.” 

Since 1970 Roger Giles has run 

Auckland’s Bunker, home to the 

Devonport Folk Music Club. These days 

he says, folk nights are generally standing 

room only and the same is true of other 

Auckland venues like Chris Priestley’s 121 

in Ponsonby Road 

(ex-Atomic Café). 

Festival 

attendances also 

show the new 

popularity. Dave 

Barnes, manager of 

the Wellington Folk 

Festival, is excited 

about the new young 

audience: “There’s a 

missed generation at 

our festivals,” he 

explains. “Very few 

30s to 45s, but 

because of the young 

ones, our overall 

audiences are bigger 

than ever.” 

Where exactly 

does NZ folk music come from? The short 

answer, following a troll thru’ various 

websites, seems to be anywhere and 

everywhere. Lists of “Top NZ folk songs” 

include I’ve been Everywhere and The 

Gumboot Song, neither of which started 

here. Nor did that other 

iconic number Ten 

Guitars, although it’s 

virtually unheard of 

anywhere else in the 

world. 

Yet another consistent 

listing is definitely 

indigenous: the Chesdale 

Cheese song. This 

musical icon started life 

as a TV jingle and has 

had several 

reincarnations including as a children’s 

playground rhyme, as collected by Janice 

Ackerley: Chesdale slices thickly/Always 

crumbles, has no taste/And shit is it a 

bloody waste!/Chesdale Cheese/The 

Poms all buy it – don’t try it. 

Traditional New Zealand music has 

many champions including Phil Garland, 

whose mission for over 30 years has been 

to gather and preserve for posterity the 

stories and songs of New Zealand. 

Phil won the inaugural 1984 Folk Album 

of the Year with Springtime in the 

Mountains and won it again last year with 

Southern Odyssey. Phil says he’s busier 

than ever, playing festivals, releasing 

albums and writing. Following on from his 

successful Singing Kiwi songbook, his 

Faces in the Firelight – a look at New 

Zealand history through Kiwi folklore, 

song, poetry and yarns, will soon be in the 

bookshops. 

Where the music comes from is not an 

issue with young bands like Forbidden 

Joe, a trio made up of Frances Dickinson, 

Alex Bowrick and Emily Giles, who are 

honing their songwriting skills while 

gaining a strong reputation with traditional 

tunes www.myspace.com/forbiddenjoe. 

Frances, described by bFM as “a 

forthcoming folk superstar” is a folk 

activist as well as a fine musician. She 

talks about the international heavyweights 

who regularly tour through New Zealand 

and the considerable number of Kiwi 

musicians playing in groups overseas. 

For Frances there’s no question about 

where Folk is heading. It’s even written on 

her business card; Folk is the New Black. 


7

Bionic Pixie – Zoe Fleury with 

Justyn Pilbrow at the APRA NZ 

Showcase 


8 

Our Australian colleagues took on a huge new 

venture this year, S3: Song Summit Sydney. The 

event combined conference sessions, workshops, 

retail exhibition and live showcases. In lieu of APRA 

NZ’s Professional Development Award, we 

allocated funds towards helping NZ APRA 

members attend and take part in S3. Following over 

80 applications from interested members, the 7 

members selected were, Mark Vanilau, Zoe Fleury, 

Jody Lloyd, Chanelle Davis, Ross McNab, Anika Moa 

and Tama Waipara. 

APRA NZ also hosted a live music showcase, 

with Mark Vanilau, Chanelle Davis, Zoe Fleury 

(Bionic Pixie) and Anika Moa performing and 

representing New Zealand. 

Staged for the first time, Song Summit Sydney 

(S3) was the brainchild of APRA|AMCOS and 

aimed to provide its 900 registered attendees 

with crucial networking, educational, retail and 

cultural opportunities. Spanning all genres of 

music and each facet of the music life cycle, the 

breadth of the program was a resounding success 

for S3 participants. 

In a never before gathering of heavyweights 

covering the full spectrum of the music industry – 

creators, managers, publishers, technicians, 

marketers, lawyers and dealmakers, S3 featured 

an impressive line-up of international music 

industry professionals. 

Inspiration seems to be a common theme. This 

from Ross McNab, writer and producer at 

Sweetway Studios: “What a wonderful initiative by 

APRA|AMCOS. I’d like to thank the APRA staff and 

execs on both sides of the Tasman for looking after 

us so well in Sydney. 

The whole S3 Summit experience was one to 

remember. I was able to meet Paul Williams, Jimmy 

Webb, Rod McCormack, Garth Porter and Ralph 

Murphy for a few moments and was the highlight for 

me to hear these guys speak and talk about the craft 

and business of songwriting. I also learned a lot from 

the very entertaining music manager and producer 

Kenny MacPherson. I enjoyed hanging out with my 

fellow attendees from NZ too. What an easy going 

and talented bunch! 

Thanks APRA. Well done on this first event of 

many I suspect. The cliche and truism ‘First the song’ 

has never meant more.” 

The final word goes to legendary composer 

Jimmy Webb, “It takes a special kind of courage to be 

a songwriter. It’s not for everybody”. 

For more information on the S3 event & a gallery 

of images please go to: 

www.songsummit.com.au 

Make sure Song Summit Sydney 2009 is on 

your professional development calendar! 

Kenny MacPherson President of Chrysalis Music, Keith Welsh Rough Cut Music, 

Andrew Jenkins Vice President Universal Music Publishing with moderator Sally 

Howland at the Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours panel session 

Tama, Rita, Zoe & Jody 

“I liked the fact that we didn’t have to prove anything 

to anyone. The reason we were all there was proof we 

were already at a certain level of songwriting. For me it 

wasn’t about trying to boost or launch a career, it was 

about interacting with genuine people with an 

understanding that even though we are all unique, our 

approach to songwriting and what it means to us, is 

very similar. In that, it’s not about trying to make a 

million bucks. It’s an outlet of expression, and a craft 

which can never be perfected yet we keep on trying.” 

Jody Lloyd 

Rai Thistlethwayte from Thirsty Merc during a 

Youth Music Clinic 

Jimmy Webb 

James Mercer (The Shins), 

Zan Rowe (Triple J) 

and Sandy Thom at the 

Opening Night Event 

Chanelle at the APRA NZ Showcase 

Anika Moa at the APRA NZ Showcase

Scot Morris leading the World Is An Amazing Place panel, featuring 

representatives from CISAC, ASCAP, Universal Music Publishing, 

SWAT Enterprises, BMI & the MCPS-PRS Alliance 

Mark at the APRA NZ Showcase 

Entries have been called for the 2008 Silver Scroll Awards. Recognising creative 

excellence in popular music, contemporary Maori music and contemporary 

Classical music, APRA Members can now enter their work(s) for: 

• APRA Silver Scroll Award 

• APRA Maioha Award 

• SOUNZ Contemporary Award 

The rules of entry, including the prize money details can be found at www. 

apra.co.nz – you’ll find the combined award entry form within this APRAP, or 

downloadable anytime from the Silver Scroll section of the APRA website. 

“S3 was brilliant! I gained invaluable global 

perspective and insight into today’s songwriting 

industry. It’s not such a mystery anymore – 

I know where I’m going and how to get there. 

Anyone who is serious about songwriting should 

go to S3 next time – you can’t learn this stuff 

from a book!” Chanelle Davis 

Mika, Arthur, Abbie, Trilby, 

Ross, Chanelle, Daniel, Justyn, 

Rita, Tama, Mark & John 

Entries must be received by 5pm, Monday 23 June. 

Be a part of New Zealand music history. The APRA Silver Scroll is the most 

prestigious songwriting award in the country and only APRA members have 

the power to decide who wins. As the only peer voted music award in New 

Zealand, this award is no popularity contest or industry competition. 

As the 2007 Silver Scroll winner, Brooke Fraser says: “It is humbling to 

accept an award from my songwriting peers”. 

APRA Members: you are the songwriting experts and it’s almost 

time to elect your 2008 songwriting champion. Your vote will make a 

difference so be sure to have your say! 

Voting opens via www.apra.co.nz in mid-July for three weeks*, 

you will be notified via email – please contact the Member Services 

team if you would like to receive a paper ballot. 

Ross, Tama, Petrina, Mark 

By voting, you will also be in the running to WIN a Deluxe Silver Scroll 

evening: flights for two to Auckland, two seats at a prime table for the Silver 

Scroll Awards and a Five-Star Fling package thanks to The Langham 

Auckland, which includes luxury accommodation, bubbles on arrival, 

breakfast for two and a late check out the next day! 

To read more about the Five-Star Fling and other fabulous Langham Auckland 

packages visit http://auckland.langhamhotels.co.nz. For any accommodation 

enquires contact Steven Bayliss – steven.bayliss@langhamhotels.com. 

PHOTOS: APRA|AMCOS, ABBIE RUTLEDGE, 

PETRINA GEORGE, RITA LUCK & ROSS MCNAB 

*Voting closes Friday 1 August. Finalists announced by Monday 18 August. The winner 

will be announced at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards, at the Auckland Town Hall on 

Wednesday September 10, 2008. 


9

CREATIVE COMMONS 

Scot Morris, Director International Relations, APRA|AMCOS & Kirti Jacobs, Communications, APRA|AMCOS 

Surely, no-one in the world has felt the 

impact of the internet more than 

songwriters. From creation and 

distribution, to connection with fans – 

there’s been a fast and furious explosion 

of opportunity and risk which has worked 

for some (think The Arctic Monkeys, Sick 

Puppies, Radiohead, The Grateful Dead), 

burned others and left many more 

wondering in its wake. 

Collecting societies the world over, like 

APRA|AMCOS, have been dealing with the 

issues of online music use since the early 

days. Keen to assert the right of their music 

creator members to be paid for the use of their 

works in emerging digital media, they’ve 

focused on developing and implementing new 

digital licences that enable music use online, 

track and monitor that use, secure payment 

and seek to protect the integrity of the works. 

Creative Commons stepped into this space a 

few years ago, claiming to offer an “alternative” 

way of licensing. 

In this article we explore some of the 

differences between the notion of licensing by 

collecting societies like APRA|AMCOS and 

those offered by Creative Commons – and what 

these differences mean for music creators. 

Some background on Creative Commons 

The Creative Commons (CC) movement began 

a few years ago in the US when Stanford 

University Constitutional Law Professor, 

Laurence Lessig, acted in a case challenging 

the US provisions extending the duration of 

copyright. 

In defeat, he developed a set of standard 

online “licences” that encouraged creators to 

give away certain copyright rights to the world 

at large. These “licences” were based on 

principles of “open software licensing”, but 

they applied to other materials such as music, 

art and film. Academics in other jurisdictions 

have sought to adapt these licences to local 

laws and conditions – this is known as the 

iCommons project. 

Is CC an alternative to copyright? 

No – nor is the movement in favour of 

abolishing copyright. It claims to be an 

alternative way of “licensing” the copyright in 

creative works. However it is not the kind of 

licensing service typically offered by APRA, 

where a copyright owner is able to monitor 

use, negotiate payment and conditions for use. 

Under a CC Licence, creators give up 

certain aspects of their hard-won exclusive 

rights for free, forever. 

Under copyright law, it is generally the 

creator’s right to decide if, how and when their 

works may be copied, adapted, distributed, 

performed, broadcast or made available to the 

public. The creator is also entitled to negotiate 

a payment for this use. Copyright recognises 

that there is a commercial value to creative 

works and grants the creator the exclusive 

right to exploit those works and share in the 

profits third parties make from the works. 

Creators, who apply a CC “licence” to their 

work, give up control over some of these rights 

and offer all people free and legal access to 

their works so they can be used for “noncommercial” 

and sometimes “commercial” 

purposes. These terms are not defined in the 

“licences” and are at the crux of the difficulties 

and confusion created in the market place by 

CC “licences”. 

Once a CC “licence” is applied to your work, 

it cannot be revoked. CC does not monitor or 

control how your works may be used, adapted, 

distributed, copied or performed. 

How does a Creative Commons 

Licence work? 

Individual creators can attach one of various 

types of CC “licence” to their work – licences 

are downloaded from the CC website. It is 

estimated there are currently over 200 different 

versions of CC licences in circulation around 

the world. The majority of musicians who use 

CC licences seek to retain their “commercial 

rights”. However, while there are CC licences 

purporting to reserve commercial rights, CC 

doesn’t assist with this nor explains how such 

rights can be administered in practice. 

Can I use both APRA and CC licences? 

You may not be able to apply a CC licence to 

your work if you have a pre-existing agreement 

with a music publisher or a collecting society. 

THE POSSIBLE PERILS OF ONLINE 

Richard Mallett, Director Recordings & Online, APRA|AMCOS 


10 

It won’t be news to anyone 

reading this article that the 

internet has opened up the 

number of opportunities available 

to songwriters for the dissemination 

of music. However, 

what appears to be news is the 

number of marketing and other 

companies who have cottoned 

onto this concept and are 

entering this space to ‘help’ to 

promote artists. 

Submitting your song to a 

competition may get your music 

heard by a wider audience or it may 

not, but it is very important that you 

read the terms and conditions that 

you are asked to sign. You need to 

make sure you are not giving away 

rights that you have already 

assigned, or that you don’t want to 

give away. Just as you would seek 

legal advice when signing a 

recording or publishing contract – it 

may pay you to do the same before 

signing or agreeing to the terms 

and conditions for an online music 

competition. 

APRA isn’t against such 

competitions; we see that they 

may present benefits. Indeed we 

are currently in discussions with a 

number of parties regarding the 

appropriate wording for their 

contracts and to allow APRA 

members, who want to submit 

works to a competition, to be able 

to do so without breaching their 

pre-assigned APRA rights. Ideally 

it would be great to have the 

operators come to us first, so we 

can work with them prior to 

launch. 

In the meantime, here are a few 

things to look out for.

For example, APRA members generally 

cannot apply CC licenses to their works 

because when they become members of 

APRA, they assign all the performing and 

communication rights in their musical works 

to APRA. This is the case for nearly all 

collecting societies around the world. 

However, APRA has long recognised the 

need for members to have flexibility and 

choice when it comes to the licensing of 

their works. To that end, we have for some 

time now, offered members the choice of 

flexible licence back and opt-out 

arrangements that enable members to selflicence 

certain works if that better suits 

their needs. 

In particular they can licence the use of 

their own works on their websites. The 

international collecting society community, 

through CISAC, is in discussions with CC to 

see whether CC licences can be made 

compatible with society membership. Some 

societies have initiated trials to this effect. 

APRA is also looking at ways we can 

review our opt-out and licence back to 

accommodate some of our members 

desires to engage in open licensing for noncommercial 

purposes, without undermining 

the collective. Stay tuned for updates. 

CREATIVE COMMONS 

You sign away rights in that work, 

forever, for the whole world, for free. 

You cannot later change your mind. 

CC does not negotiate payment for 

the use of your work – it is up to you 

to contact individual users across the 

world to negotiate and secure payment. 

It is up to you to monitor and enforce the 

use of your work. If someone uses your 

work in a way that is not authorised by 

the Creative Commons Licence, you will 

have to contact the person responsible 

or seek legal help to enforce the terms 

of the licence. This can be difficult in 

practice, especially online and overseas. 

May limit your chance of securing a 

commercial deal for that work – if it is 

available for free already, commercial 

music users may be reluctant to pay for 

the right to use it. 


You assign all the performing and 

communication rights in your musical 

works to APRA, who then negotiates 

licences for the use of your music on 

your behalf. This is the case for nearly all 

collecting societies around the world. 

APRA members can change their minds. 

Ask about our opt-out and licence-back 

schemes. 

APRA negotiates with users on your 

behalf and collects royalties for the use 

of your work. These royalties, less our 

administration expenses are distributed 

back to our members. 

APRA takes on responsibility for 

monitoring and enforcing the use of your 

work. The assignment of rights enables 

us to take legal action on your behalf 

against users making money out of your 

work without a proper license. 

APRA represents over 50,000 

Australasian songwriters, composers 

and music publishers and, through 

our agreements with similar societies 

overseas, the vast majority of music 

creators worldwide. This means we can 

promote the repertoire of our members 

with confidence and negotiate the best 

possible rates with music users. 

When considering any licensing scheme, it’s very important to make 

sure you get informed, independent legal advice. 

MUSIC COMPETITIONS 

Waiving all payments 

In general, these competitions will 

generate advertising or other 

revenue for the operator either 

directly from the use of your music, 

or indirectly through association 

and trade. It follows that a proper 

value should be ascribed to the 

exercise of your music. 

Granting worldwide licences 

The terms of any grant (including 

any purported assignment of 

copyright) must be subject to any 

prior rights assigned to APRA (and 

your publisher, if relevant). Also 

you should beware about clauses 

that assign your rights outright to 

the competition. 

Use outside the competition 

& sub-licences 

Watch out for terms that appear to 

allow the operator of the 

competition to sub-licence songs 

to other websites without payment 

back to the songwriter. We have 

seen a local competition whose 

terms and conditions would permit 

them to authorise the broadcast of 

the song on radio and television 

and release it on CD – all without 

any payment of royalties to you, 

the composer of the work. 

Third parties 

Be careful about clauses that allow 

the person running the competition 

to assign the rights you have given 

them to third parties. This is a sure 

fire recipe for disaster as the potential 

is there for you to lose complete 

control over the use of your work. If it 

turns up in an advertisement for dog 

food, there may be very little you can 

do about it. 


11

Greer Donovan 

Manager, Licensing Services 


Scot Morris 

Director International Relations 



12 

Percentage of Licensing Revenue 

for Each Sector 

50% Background Music Licences – bars, 

cafes, bookstores, churches, fitness 

centres, restaurants and live licences 

30% Ticketed events – concerts, festivals, 

club nights etc 

15% Cinemas – for the use of music in film 

5% Dramatic Context – music used in plays 

/ theatrical performances 

WHERE DO THE 

$$ COME FROM? 

Royalty payments to APRA members and overseas 

affiliates are generated from many different licence 

types – if a business uses music for their clientele then 

you are entitled to be paid for that use of your work… 

this is where APRA work with the business to obtain the 

relevant licence applicable to their music usage. Instead 

of you having to liaise with each business we do the 

work on your behalf. 

Every business that uses music, for example your local café, 

magazine shop, petrol station, clothes store, or library, is 

required to obtain an APRA licence. These licenses can be as 

little as $96 (including GST) per year for a café. Retail store’s 

licence fees are based on the size of the outlet (m2) and also 

by the device by which the music is communicated. 

Hospitality businesses in most instances will have a 

background music licence and perhaps a live music licence for 

live performances at their venue. The live music licence fees 

make up the live performance return pool. To collect on this 

money you must do your Live Performance Returns – we don’t 

know where and what you’ve played unless you tell us. 

Fitness Centres require APRA licenses for background 

music in their centre and if applicable a fitness class licence for 

the music used in aerobics and fitness classes. 

All concerts, events and festivals are required to have an 

APRA licence. For ticketed events the licence fee is based on 

the gross sums paid for admission. The licence fee is 

distributed to the composers of the works performed – this is 

why we ask you to submit setlists. Even if there isn’t a ticket 

charge the Promoter is still required to have an APRA licence 

and this licence fee is based on gross 

sums paid to the performers. 

So, the next time you are in your 

favourite shop or café, look out for 

their APRA sticker (pictured here) or 

ask the proprietor if they have their 

APRA licence up to date – if they 

have: thank them! 

INTERNATIONAL 

NOTES 

TOURED OVERSEAS? 

LET US KNOW 

It’s really important that you let APRA know about 

your overseas tours. You are probably aware that 

you can do this quickly and easily using our online 

Overseas Live Performance Return within the 

Member Forms section of www.apra.co.nz. 

The rules regarding what information is submitted and 

the rules for analysis for distribution purposes differ from 

country to country; and may change from time to time. For 

example, if you are touring in Ireland, you will need to 

submit a representative set list covering 16 gigs in the 

country. For the UK, you must ensure you include the 

postcode of the venues in the UK (including Northern 

Ireland). In the US, performing rights organisations will 

usually only distribute on the top 200 grossing tours 

(according to Pollstar magazine) in that country. 

Please note it may be possible to make a claim through 

the ASCAP international awards scheme for your US tour in 

certain circumstances. The ASCAP award application 

forms are also available within the Member Forms section 

of www.apra.co.nz. 

In many developing countries and in certain regions 

such as Asia, copyright law and practice may not yet be 

well established. We monitor the rules and processes 

around the world and any changes to them. So, if you have 

any questions about concert tours in certain countries 

please don’t hesitate to contact your member services 

representative before filling out the form. 

Please be aware that payment is according to the rules 

(and delays) of our sister society in the territory where the 

performance occurred. If you provide us with tour 

information, we will make the claim to the foreign society 

and follow it up. Be mindful that in some cases our claim 

may prompt the society to licence the venue or concert 

you have notified us of, if it was previously unlicensed. 

JINGLES OVERSEAS 

By the same token, whether or not you receive income 

from music used in an advertisement that is broadcast 

overseas, is subject to the law and rules of the society in 

that territory. We also monitor international practice and 

requirements for claims in this regard. Many territories do 

not distribute royalties on broadcast ads at all (especially 

those that don’t licence broadcasters yet!). Please contact 

your Member Services representative if you have questions 

about the use of your music in advertisements in any 

territory before filling in the Overseas Jingle Reporting Form 

available online.

Trans-Tasman Exchange 

The Centre for New Zealand Music and 

the Australian Music Centre take turns 

each year in facilitating a residency 

scheme which allows a composer from 

one country to work intensively with a 

leading professional performing group in 

the other. Creative New Zealand and the 

Australia Council respectively provide 

funding support for the project. The 

Trans-Tasman composer exchange was 

instituted in 2003 and New Zealander 

Kenneth Young, the 2007 recipient, 

will be the fifth composer to take up 

the opportunity. He is being hosted by 

the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 

and will spend a total of seven weeks in 

2008 working 

intensively 

with the players 

and artistic 

management. As 

well as writing 

a work for the 

orchestra to 

perform in early 

2009, Ken will 

participate in 

seminars and 

events including 

the Australian 

Composers School and presenting a guest 

lecture at the Tasmanian Conservatorium. 

Previous Trans-Tasman composers 

have been Gareth Farr (NZ), James Ledger 

(Aus), James Gardner (NZ) and Colin 

Bright (Aus). 

NZ Landscapes on YouTube 

Twelve ‘Landscape Preludes’ from twelve 

New Zealand composers were performed 

together for the first time at the recent 

New Zealand International Arts Festival 

in Wellington. Pianist Stephen de Pledge, 

who commissioned and performed the 

works gave the composers a simple brief: 

they were to be for solo piano, 2-4 minutes 

in duration and reflect the general them 

of ‘Landscape’. 

“My only worry”, Stephen admitted, 

“was that they might all sound too 

similar, but in fact it has been fascinating 

to see the composers’ reactions. I don’t 

think you could find a more different set 

of pieces and yet, while they are highly 

individualistic, the idea of ‘Landscape’ 

has leant them a certain cohesiveness.” 

Nine of the twelve composers were 

present at the Festival performance and, 

with permission from the Arts Festival 

organisers, composers and Stephen 

himself, film students from Dunedin’s 

Aoraki Polytechnic recorded the 

concert along with interviews with the 

composers. The results will be published 

online to video-sharing website YouTube 

allowing people anywhere a means to see 

and hear the results of this fascinating 

creative process and an outstanding 

Festival event. 

Funding for the commissions came 

from Creative New Zealand, Jack 

Richards, Chamber Music New Zealand 

and the James Wallace Foundation. 

Pianist Stephen De Pledge congratulates nine of the twelve NZ 

composers involved in the Landscape Preludes performance at the 

NZ International Arts Festival. More on YouTube. The composers are: 

Ross Harris, Michael Norris, Samuel Holloway, Jenny McLeod, 

Dylan Lardelli, Eve de Castro-Robinson, John Psathas (obscured), 

Jack Body, and Gareth Farr. 

Really Simple Syndication for 

SOUNZ 

Following its launch in late November 

2007 hundreds of people have signed 

up to the new SOUNZ website. It has 

continued to grow and develop with 

new works, samples, downloads and 

information being catalogued and 

added each week. The facilities and 

search capabilities are extending almost 

organically! 

One of the newest options to be made 

available are RSS feeds from the News 

and Music pages. Those who choose to 

link the RSS feeds to their browsers will 

automatically be sent information about 

the latest news updates and products 

as they become available. A whole new 

world of New Zealand music! 

Centre for NZ Music (trading as SOUNZ) 

PO Box 10042, Wellington 6143, NZ. 

Street address: Level 1, 39 Cambridge Terrace 

Phone: 64-4-801 8602, Fax: 64-4-801 8604 

Email: info@sounz.org.nz 

www.sounz.org.nz 


13

APRA WELCOMES DARREN STAPLETON, APRA MEMBER SINCE NOVEMBER 2007 

DARREN STAPLETON writes for and performs 

with two bands: Strawdogs (punk rock) and 

Shinobi (heavy rock). After almost two decades 

of songwriting and performance he finally 

decided to sign up for APRA membership, and in 

late 2007 became APRA’s 50,000th member. 

“This is a significant milestone for APRA,” says Sally 

Howland, Director Member Services APRA|AMCOS. 

“For over 80 years, APRA has represented the rights of 

songwriters, composers and music publishers. We 

began operations in 1926 with just nine publisher 

members. Over the decades, our membership has 

risen steadily as a result of a flourishing music industry 

and our constant commitment to securing the fairest 

and highest level of payments for our members, 

providing the strongest defence possible of their 

rights.” 

APRAP caught up with Darren to find out a bit 

more about our newest member, his songwriting 

and future plans… 

What prompted you to join APRA? 

In the two bands, we write, record and perform original 

music and lyrics. Because of this we were advised by a 

friend in the industry that it was crucial that we 

registered with APRA. Since our music is now exposed 

to so many more people through various mediums 

including the internet (websites like myspace and 

iTunes) and on the radio and on TV; it means that 

as musicians we need to protect our work and 

our income. 

What can APRA do for you? 

In my view APRA is crucial as it makes life easier and 

holds people accountable to Copyright Law. It is so 

important to us, as musicians and performers, that our 

music is protected and that we can continue to earn 

income and be able to make more music! APRA helps 

us as it provides licences to business and 

organisations who may play our music and collects 

royalties on our behalf. 

What are you currently working on? 

With Shinobi we have been getting out there and doing 

more shows in the last twelve months. We are also 

working on some new songs and also trying to get our 

current four track EP out there! With the Strawdogs we 

have been more focused on rehearsing, writing and 

recording our new album. 

Without a doubt – the best part of being a musician 

is playing live and the local music scene in Sydney is 

still rocking with great venues like The Gaelic Club in 

Sydney and Bizzos in Caringbah. Since 

late November we have also been 

working with The Harbour Agency 

and our agent Luke has been 

pivotal in helping us gain more 

shows in Sydney, the west and 

down the South Coast! 

What do you hope to achieve 

with your music? 

Music has been a part of my life for 

a long time! All of the members of 

Shinobi and the Strawdogs are great lifelong 

friends and family. We all love jamming together, 

hanging out and writing music. If we have success with 

our music, and we can make a career out of it, it would 

be awesome and a dream come true, but it we don’t... 

we will still be meeting up next week for a jam session 

and we will still be recording music 10 years from now! 

www.myspace.com/strawdogsdeathpunks 

www.myspace.com/shinobioz 

www.shinobi-oz.com 

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED BY DARREN STAPLETON 


14

OBITUARY 

MAHINARANGI TOCKER 1955 - 2008 

Photos by © Robert Catto / www.catto.co.nz 

Performing at Te Papa Marae June 2003 

Recording Mongrel In Me July 2005 

at Braeburn Studios in Wellington 

Mahinarangi Tocker (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Tainui – Ngati Maniapoto, Jewish 

and Celtic ancestry) made an extraordinary contribution to New Zealand. She was one of 

our most unique voices. 

Mahinarangi was born in Taumaranui into a whanau blessed with the love of music. 

Known today as a gifted poet, songwriter and musician – many may not know that in her 

early days she was also a representative swimmer, diver and netballer! She studied and 

qualified as a nurse but quickly discovered her path was to follow her love of music. 

In her life she wrote and recorded six albums of her own – all highly acclaimed. It’s 

quoted she wrote more than 600 songs. I suspect she wrote many more. She was prolific 

– at times a whirlwind of energy and intensity – as close to a musical genius as anyone in 

this country. She contributed to numerous recordings and live performances across 

numerous genres and collaborated with an enviable array of musicians and artists from 

David Downes and Ross Harris, to Charlotte Yates, Shona Laing, to the Strawpeople and 

Hone Tuwhare. 

Her music is in many ways indefinable; but it was always reflective of her. It was 

diverse; it talked about love and respect, of tolerance. It was accessible and intelligent. It 

was complex and it was always beautiful. She wrote about her ancestry but most proudly 

of her Maori heritage and her music showed us the way to co-exist in a diverse world. 

Mahinarangi exemplified all that this meant. 

There are many tributes to her extraordinary life. What becomes clear through all these 

personal celebrations is that Mahinarangi made every one she met feel special – like you 

were her most special friend. She made us laugh, she was generous and she was kind and 

full of aroha for those around her. Whether you were lucky enough to know her personally, 

saw her perform live or simply heard her music, the experience was unforgettable. 

The legacy of her music will live on as will her work in mental health, education and 

human rights. This year, in the New Year Honours list, Mahinarangi Tocker became a 

member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music – a richly deserved reward. 

It’s unthinkable that Mahinarangi is no longer with us. We extend our sympathies to 

Irena (her sweetheart), her daughter Hinewairangi and her whole whanau. 

Anthony Healey 


15

MOMENTSINMUSIC 

From Left – Gilbert Egdell, Michael Glading, Annie Crummer, Kim Willoughby and Dianne Swann 

GOING GOLD 

Debbie Harwood www.debbieharwood.co.nz 

This could be a quiz: guess which NZ female singer is buried behind Michael Glading’s face, Mmmm? 

Yes: it is me! CBS had agreed reluctantly to release Melting Pot. I had always liked Michael Glading, but 

he didn’t quite get this one. His view was that it wouldn’t work. I remember Michael saying “I like you 

Debbie, so we’ll put it in the shops for you, but with no promotion”. And Bob’s yer uncle, it went to #1! 

They had under-estimated our massive live audience (take note: LIVE = very important). 

This photo is of the Gold status dinner at Oblio’s in Ponsonby 1989, quite flash for us … GOLD, for 

God’s sake! We didn’t normally eat that much because we were so poor. Cripes, I did that night and 

drank the champagne they were plying us with! However, and I say that like the nasty judge on DWTS: 

they presented us with ordinary cassettes, opened, splayed even, glued onto maroon velvet; framed 

with those cheap, thin brassy frames that get all spotty within a month. There wasn’t a gold thing in 

sight. You are seeing the white paper background in this photo which is the way I’ve hung it on my wall!! 

In those days NZ artists were low priority and the policy was that international artists were released on 

CD, but local artists weren’t. So we had vinyl and cassettes at the time. 

I would have loved an actual gold single or album – but there is always a silver lining. I remember 

leaving the motel my husband and I were staying at to go to the dinner, leaving a very beautiful young 

journalist interviewing him and he seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much for my liking. So, 

when I came back, fired up by the champagne and determined to reclaim my territory – our gorgeous 

son, Marlon, was conceived. Oh, what a night! Thanks for being the fluffer Michael! 

Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd. An association of composers, authors and publishers of music in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific: Having affiliations with similarly constituted organisations throughout the world. Registered Office: Sydney – 6-12 Atchison 

Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia, Telephone: (02) 9935 7900, Facsimile: (02) 9935 7999. Email: apra@apra.com.au Writer Directors: Arthur Baysting (New Zealand), Eric McCusker, Richard Meale LLD AM MBE, Jenny Morris, Chris Neal, Michael Perjanik (Chairman). 

Publisher Directors: Robert Aird Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd, John Anderson EMI Song Australia Pty Ltd, Matthew Capper Warner/Chappell Music Australia Pty Ltd, Ian James Mushroom Music Pty Ltd, Fifa Riccobono J Albert & Son, Damian Trotter Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 

Chief Executive: Brett Cottle LLB. Director of NZ Operations: Anthony Healey LLB. New Zealand APRAP Editor: Abbie Rutledge Email: arutledge@apra.com.au Design: Lorenzo Design. Contributors: Anthony Healey, Brett Cottle, Petrina George, Greer Donovan, Abbie Rutledge, 

Arthur Baysting, Richard Mallett, Anthea Sarris, Stephen Gibbs, Kirti Jacobs, Scot Morris, Marshall Smith, Debbie Harwood. The opinions expressed in articles in APRAP are not necessarily those held by the APRA Board. © 2008 Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd. 

APRA|AMCOS, Unit 113, Zone 23, 21-23 Edwin St, Mt Eden 1024, PO Box 6315, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141. Freephone 0800 69 2772, Phone 09 623 2173 Fax 09 623 2174. Email: nz@apra.com.au www.apra.co.nz 


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Have you got a photograph that captures a moment in music? Send your submission with 250 words on 

why it’s special to arutledge@apra.com.au and it could appear on the back of the next APRAP.

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