Independent Music NZ (IMNZ), in partnership with Founding Partner Recorded Music NZ, is proud to announce the winners for the 2026 Taite Music Prize — Aotearoa’s premier celebration of independent album-making.
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2026 Auckland Live Best Independent Debut winner;
Geneva AM - Pikipiki
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2026 Independent Spirit Award presented to Carmel Bennett
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NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award to
Rosa Nevison, Flynn Robson, and Sam Elliott for Newzician Magazine
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The Mint Chicks - Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!
take home the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland
Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ) is proud to announce the winner of the prestigious 2026 Taite Music Prize held at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Tāmaki Makaurau. The event celebrated outstanding Aotearoa albums released over the past calendar year, recognising the highest artistic merit over commercial success and highlighting independent excellence across genres. The Taite Music Prize continues to reflect the creative landscape of Aotearoa music, recognising albums that shape and define the year’s output.
2026 marks the second consecutive year Māori-led projects have been recognised across the Taite Music Prize’s contemporary categories, celebrating the continued ascendancy of te reo Māori and artistic excellence within Aotearoa music.
Tonight’s Taite Music Prize was awarded to Marlon Williams for Te Whare Tīwekaweka, released via Marlon Williams Music Ltd. Williams receives a $12,500 cash prize, courtesy of founding partner Recorded Music NZ.
Te Whare Tīwekaweka is recognised as a deeply personal and expansive body of work, with Williams drawing on te reo Māori as a creative framework for themes of connection, identity, and whakapapa. Developed in collaboration with KOMMI, who contributed to its lyrical and linguistic shaping, the album is framed by the concept of “a messy house” — a metaphor for the warmth, complexity, and the continual evolution of Māori identity and home. The record brings together a wide range of influences into a cohesive and unified whole.
Joining via a recorded acceptance speech from Norway, where he is on tour, Marlon Williams said: “E mihi ana ki a koe mō māhāra (thank you for your memory), Dylan Taite, and to the Taite family for your legacy — not only for this award, but for the incredible standard you brought to journalism in New Zealand. Thank you very much to my fellow musicians — incredible music you all put out this year — very honoured to be amongst your number. Kommi, without your help, I wouldn’t have made this record at all. Thanks for representing this record in the room.”
Additional Honours of the Evening:
The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award goes to Geneva AM for her debut album Pikipiki. Sonically varied and emotionally rich, Pikipiki spans classical, dance, drum ’n’ bass, hiko, and emo rock influences, alongside bilingual originals and reimagined versions of Aotearoa favourites. At the centre is Geneva AM’s voice, guiding the listener with clarity and purpose, uplifting wairua and encouraging resilience through life’s challenges. Upon accepting her award, she shared: “We need to stay united, keep creating, and continue enjoying the art of tinkering—free all occupied territories.”
The Independent Spirit Award was presented to Carmel Bennett, whose “say yes, figure it out later” ethos has shaped a career spanning almost every corner of the music industry — from lighting and production through to artist management. Across decades of work, she has played a pivotal role in landmark events, including Big Day Out and Soundsplash, as well as formative years at The Powerstation. More recently, her focus and pride have centred on her work with MusicHelps, continuing her long-standing commitment to supporting the wider music community. "I spent many years having a cup of tea with Dylan Taite in the back bar of the Powerstation. So this is really special to me," said Bennett in her acceptance speech.
Rosa Nevison, Flynn Robson, and Sam Elliott took home the NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award for their in-print Newzician Magazine. Bringing Aotearoa’s DIY ethos, Newzician is an independent magazine founded by three friends from the Ōtepoti Dunedin gig circuit. Now four issues in, it is being recognised for sustaining long-form music journalism in print at a time when it is increasingly rare, and for documenting music culture as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a collection of individual artists. Produced entirely without institutional backing, the magazine prioritises in-depth storytelling and context-led coverage, creating space for artists and communities to speak in full. Each issue spans artists alongside the wider infrastructure that supports them – including venues, labels, photographers, writers, and designers – capturing the networks that sustain Aotearoa’s music communities.
The Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award was presented to The Mint Chicks for their album Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! recognised for its lasting impact on Aotearoa’s alternative music landscape and its ongoing influence on successive generations of artists. Released in the early 2000s, the album pushed New Zealand pop, psychedelia and punk into more volatile, experimental territories, defined by abrasive textures, fractured structures, and a deliberate rejection of conventional polish. Its legacy endures as a touchstone for boundary-pushing music, locally and internationally, reshaping expectations of what Aotearoa music could sound like. Eligible 20 years after release, Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! is recognised at the earliest opportunity for the Classic Record Award. Speaking on the win, Ruban Nielson described the album as “a collision of four people,” while Michael Logie added, “Kodi made this in a garage so that’s independent music — stay together, help each other.” ChrisNielson reflected on the making of Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! as an intention to create “a punk album dressed as candy.”