Music Industry News

The Aotearoa Music Awards celebrated an exceptional group of Tūī winners tonight at the Viaduct Events Centre, closing out Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Month in style. It was the first time the music community had gathered for AMA since November 2022.

Fresh from playing Coachella, indie stars The Beths collected the coveted Spotify Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau | Album of the Year for their third LP Expert In A Dying Field, and Te Tino Kāhui Manu Taki o te Tau | Best Group.

Avantdale Bowling Club rose above 12 other hits to win Spotify Te Tino Waiata o te Tau | Single of the Year for ‘Friday Night @ The Liquor Store’, from their 2023 album TREES.

Lyttelton crooner Marlon Williams was awarded Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist, a title he also claimed in 2015. Released in September 2022, the success of Williams’ third solo record My Boy was such that nothing could touch him all the way into 2024. Tom Healy & Alexandra Corbett won Te Taumata o te Pūkenga Oro | Best Engineer for My Boy.

TAWAZ scooped both Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist and Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo, for ‘He Aho’. Mana Reo recognises albums or singles with at least 50% te reo Māori content.

Entirely decided by public vote, JD Sports Tā te Iwi | People’s Choice was won by newcomer Hori Shaw. The Ōpōtiki-based roots reggae artist boasts great streaming numbers and has been blowing up on the local charts over the course of the last year, with hits including ‘Paradise 35’, ‘Country Roads’, and most recently ‘Back In My Arms’.

Radio BurgerFuel Te Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year was won by COTERIE, who had a massive six singles in the NZ Top 20 during the AMA 2024 eligibility period. They also achieved more than a 50% increase in their streaming numbers in the same timeframe.

In 2024 AMA also recognised Te Tino Waiata ā-Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Single of the Year, which was won by Corrella for their sleeper hit ‘Blue Eyed Māori’. The eight-piece also won Taki Taketake o te Tau | Best Roots Artist.

Stan Walker was awarded the first ever Te Manu Mātārae award, presented by none other than Tāme Iti. Introduced to recognise those that have made a significant impact on the music landscape during the eligibility period, but whose success may not be captured by traditional award categories, the Tūī recognises the cultural impact of the artist’s powerful single ‘I AM’, which was written for and featured on the soundtrack to the Ava DuVernay film Origin.

Country music sensation Kaylee Bell put a strong boot forward, winning Te Manu Taki Tuawhenua o te Tau | Best Country Artist for the first time. The independent artist was also awarded one of two inaugural Te Manu Mātārae awards, recognising her success in taking her brand of country music to the world. Bell won the Jeff Walker Global Country Artist award at the 2023 Country Music Awards, and in June 2023 became the first independent female country artist from Australasia to receive an ARIA Gold Award.

Aaradhna is back on the scene. In 2024 she won Te Manu Taki Manako o te Tau | Best Soul/RnB Artist, the genre category she helped to create when she regifted her 2016 Tūī for Best Urban/Hip Hop to SWIDT. Anahera Parata won NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Ataata | Best Music Video Content for the powerful video she created to accompany Aaradhna’s first single in eight years, ‘SHE’.

2023 Taite Music Prize winner Princess Chelsea was awarded Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau | Best Alternative Artist, off the back of her celebrated return Everything Is Going To Be Alright.

Home Brew won Te Manu Taki Ātete o te Tau | Best Hip Hop Artist, while Te Taumata o te Kaiwhakaputa | Best Producer, presented by Massey University, was taken home by Haz Beats for the act’s 2023 record Run It Back.

2022 Breakthrough Artist Georgia Lines continues her climb, winning Te Manu Taki Arotini o te Tau | Best Pop Artist in 2024. On the books of local indie label Sunreturn, Amamelia won Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist.

Ōtautahi folk legend Adam McGrath took home Te Manu Taki Ahurea o te Tau | Best Folk, his first-ever Tūī nomination and win. The new project from members of naughties act The Checks, Racing won Te Manu Taki Rakapioi o te Tau | Best Rock Artist.

Lily Paris West was twice a finalist for Te Taumata o te Toi | Best Album Artwork – for The Beths’ Expert In A Dying Field, and ultimately winning for her band Mermaiden’s eponymous LP.

Awarded at this year’s AMA event rather than Wellington Jazz Festival as in previous years, Te Manu Taki Tautito o te Tau | Best Jazz Artist was awarded to Myele Manzanza. Te Manu Taki Tuauki o te Tau | Best Classical Artist was also awarded at AMA 24, with the New Zealand String Quartet taking home the honour.

NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Hokona | Highest Selling Artist was secured by Six60. NZ On Air Te Taumata o te Horapa | Radio Airplay Record of the Year was picked up by L.A.B, for their hit single ‘Take It Away’. Both categories are decided based on data provided by Recorded Music NZ.

In addition to the presentation of this year’s Tūī, Dame Hinewehi Mohi was inducted into Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. The event closed with an incredible tribute performance to the artist and advocate, that featured Stan Walker, Drax Project, Rob Ruha, Maisey Rika, Jordyn with a Why and MOHI.

The event also featured performances throughout, by Stan Walker, Kaylee Bell, Corrella, Princess Chelsea, Georgia Lines, COTERIE, Jordyn with a Why, and MOHI.

Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Jo Oliver says it was incredibly special to bring the Aotearoa Music Awards back after a pause in 2023.

“Congratulations to all the winners for the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards. It was so exciting to bring AMA back, and to honour and celebrate all the remarkable artists and behind-the-scenes specialists up for Tūī this year. Closing out Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa | New Zealand Music Month, it was a welcome opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved in the music industry across the course of the nomination period.

“We were also pleased to introduce a fresh format for AMA 2024, the Opening Ceremony and Showcase, and to partner with RNZ – who have done an incredible job of amplifying the Awards and our 2024 finalists and winners.”

The 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards was co-hosted by well-known broadcasters Jesse Mulligan and Kara Rickard. It was livestreamed via AMA Official Media Partner Radio New Zealand – at rnz.co.nz, and on its YouTube and Facebook channels.

The broadcast will be available to stream on TVNZ+ from Friday 31 May. The live broadcast and on-demand stream were funded by Irirangi Te Motu | NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.

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The Aotearoa Music Awards is the annual showcase event for the music industry, celebrating artists and music from Aotearoa. The event recognises the biggest musical successes of the year while also providing a platform to promote emerging artists. Grounded in nearly 60 years of history, the Aotearoa Music Awards has evolved to reflect our unique cultural identity. It has launched music careers, told artists’ stories and created memorable moments.