Funding rounds & dates

Funding is available for the production and promotion (including aligned video assets) of single waiata containing 50% or more reo Māori, that are original, and have not been released before.

Waiata we are looking to support will be for Aotearoa audiences and demonstrate a capacity to positively impact New Zealanders’ attitudes towards te reo Māori by providing audiences an opportunity to engage with the language in a way that is inclusive and within their reach.

Eligible costs: mātanga reo (reo māori consultant), studio engineer, music producer, music director, session musicians, studio hire, mixing, mastering, video asset creation, publicist, campaign services. Other reasonable costs may be considered.

The purpose of this funding is to support the creation of quality projects – EPs, albums, multi-song projects – for diverse audiences that will contribute to the normalisation and wellbeing of te reo Māori.

We are looking to support will be for Aotearoa audiences and demonstrate a capacity to positively impact New Zealanders’ attitudes towards te reo Māori by providing audiences an opportunity to engage with the language in a way that is inclusive and within their reach.

Eligible costs: mātanga reo (reo māori consultant), studio engineer, music producer, music director, session musicians, studio hire, mixing, mastering, video asset creation, publicist, campaign services. Other reasonable costs may be considered.

The purpose of this funding is to support recognised music organisations to host songwriting collaboration initiatives that develop popular, contemporary, waiata reo Māori.

Proposed collaborations should aim to:

• create new waiata reo Māori with a focus on song structure, melody, and well-crafted reo Māori lyrics,
• return a minimum number of waiata reo Māori demo recordings for use in future Waiata Reo Māori and Waiata Tuarea funding applications to Te Māngai Pāho,
• grow the capability of participants to confidently express themselves in waiata reo Māori.

Professional recordings for release are not an expectation of this funding.

The purpose of Oro Kura Roa is to offer an emerging, reo-focused music artist a taste of what it is like to work on (and in) music full-time. In that time, the recipient will strengthen their music business acumen while contributing a new body of work to the supply pipeline of waiata reo Māori.

Waiata Takitahi is a Co-Fund launched in 2020 as a collaboration between Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air. The ambition for the fund is to enable the creation of brand new songs incorporating te reo Māori to target big audience platforms.

Applications from New Zealand artists who are interested in recording and releasing a bilingual single with potential general audience appeal and a minimum of 25% te reo Māori in the song lyrics are welcome to apply.

Artists can come from any background but the use of te reo Māori in the song will be expected to be overseen by a reo Māori language consultant to ensure quality control and contextual relevance in the song. For applicants who are not in a position to confirm a language consultant before the application deadline, there will be an opportunity to be matched with a range of consultants via Te Māngai Pāho.

Pūtea is available to put towards the costs of recording a single song, creating video content and other visual collateral, and putting resources towards promotion, publicity, and marketing for the single release. Funds can also be used to pay for the services of a reo Māori language consultant.

More information from the 2023 Waiata Takitahi round is provided in the links below:
Waiata Takitahi Guidelines & Criteria List
Waiata Takitahi FAQ and Detailed Criteria

Supporting established music organisations and initiatives. Keep an eye on our website and newsletter for opportunities to apply for industry support funding.