Terms & Judging Criteria

Any record label, self-releasing artist or music-related company is eligible to nominate NZ albums for consideration.

As this is a critically judged award for originality, and considering the artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence of each NZ album in its entirety when nominating. The Prize is in the form of a physical prize and a payment of NZ$12,500, supplied by Founding Partner, Recorded Music NZ.

Phase One – Nomination Round

Nomination costs $100+GST for each nomination.
All Members of IMNZ receive up to three nominations free of charge.
Additional nominations by IMNZ members costs $50+GST for each nomination.
Full payment of the invoiced amounts must be made to IMNZ by the nomination close-off date to be considered as a valid entry.

The finalist selection will be made via online delivery services, such as the artist’s own website, Bandcamp, Soundcloud pages or via online streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music. Please indicate your primary online listening source in the application form provided.

It is important for the success of this event and the future of the prize that nominated artists are available to attend the Taite Music Prize event in Auckland, in April 2025. If the applicant is not self-nominating, the record label must also acknowledge and confirm that they have notified the relevant artist.

All entries are accepted via the nomination form on the IMNZ website; however final entry is at the absolute discretion of the IMNZ board.

Entry deadline is 5.00pm, 31st January 2025.

Eligibility

Only albums released during the previous calendar year (January 1^st to December 31^st) are eligible.
The album’s release date is defined as when it was first made available for purchase via physical/digital retailers by the public in New Zealand.
An album is considered eligible for the Taite Music Prize if the playing time of the full album is over 25 minutes or contains six different songs or more. Audio visual content will not be considered in this calculation.
The album must contain more than 75% original compositions. Arrangements, adaptations or ‘covers’ are not considered original compositions.
Multiple artist compilations are not eligible for the Taite Music Prize. If multiple artists contribute individual tracks and are listed individually on the album packaging, the album is defined as a multiple artist compilation.
‘Best of’, ‘Greatest Hits’ or ‘re-released’ records are all ineligible for nomination.
Double or multi-disc albums are only eligible if they are sold as one full album.
All nominated artists must be citizens (by birth or citizenship) or, have been granted permanent residency in New Zealand. In the case of groups or production teams, a minimum of half of the members must qualify as citizens or permanent residents.
The recording must be owned by a New Zealand owned company or company with a New Zealand-based office.
Solo artists, groups and production teams are all eligible as long as the album satisfies the criteria outlined above.

Phase Two – Finalist Round

Judging process and timeline

The judging process takes place over two stages:

Stage One: A voting academy containing approx. 1,200 music judges are invited via email to rank their top 10 albums from the longlist. The academy includes musicians (via APRA membership), music industry personnel and IMNZ members. Listening and voting facilities are made available online. The nominations with the most accumulated votes will be selected as the Taite Music Prize finalists.
Stage Two: A ten person judging panel will assess the finalist albums including the music, packaging (if any) and album artwork. The ten person judging panel will be appointed by IMNZ and will be announced along with the Taite Music Prize finalists. All judges are to declare any potential conflicts of interest prior to the finalist announcement and the judging process commencing.
- The selected panel will meet to decide the winner of the Taite Music Prize.
- The panel will assess the album in its entirety including the music, packaging and album artwork. Album sales, artist popularity or recognition, previous awards, live or international achievements are not factors that will be considered.
- All decisions of the judges are final.
- No correspondence will be entered into.

The Taite Music Prize winning album will be announced at an event held in Auckland during April 2025.

Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award

In 2017 IMNZ created the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, that celebrates the freshest talent of Aotearoa. The winner receives a $2,000 cash prize, plus a performance or technical upskilling opportunity thanks to Auckland Live. Please note that this particular award is only open to IMNZ members.

FAQ – I have nominated my debut release for the main Taite Music Prize, can I apply for this award too?

A: If you are an IMNZ member, then yes you can! Please follow the nomination process below.

Phase One – Nomination Round

All Members of IMNZ receive up to three nominations free of charge.
We are celebrating debut albums or EPs (with a total of 4 tracks or more) released in the previous year (1st January to 31st December).
Any additional nominations cost $50+GST for each nomination.
If the applicant is not self-nominating, the record label must also acknowledge and confirm that they have notified the relevant artist.
The finalist selection will be made via online delivery services, such as the artist’s own website, Bandcamp, Soundcloud pages or via online streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music.
All entries are accepted via the nomination form on the IMNZ website.

Auckland Live Best Independent Debut entries deadline is 5.00pm 31st January 2025.

Eligibility

Non-IMNZ members are not eligible to enter nominations in this award category.
The debut record’s release date is defined as when it was first made available for purchase via physical/digital retailers by the public in New Zealand.
An album or EP is considered eligible for the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award if the full record contains four different songs or more by one artist. Audio visual content will not be considered in this calculation.
The album must contain more than 75% original compositions. Arrangements, adaptations or ‘covers’ are not considered original compositions.
Multiple artist compilations are not eligible for this award category. If multiple artists contribute individual tracks and are listed individually on the album packaging, the album is defined as a multiple artist compilation.
‘Best of’, ‘Greatest Hits’ or ‘re-released’ records are all ineligible for nomination.
Double or multi-disc albums are only eligible if they are sold as one full album.
All nominated artists must be citizens (by birth or citizenship) or, have been granted permanent residency in New Zealand. In the case of groups or production teams, a minimum of half of the members must qualify as citizens or permanent residents.
The recording must be owned by a New Zealand-owned company or company with a New Zealand-based office.
Solo artists, groups and production teams are all eligible as long as the debut album satisfies the criteria outlined above.

Phase Two – Finalist Round

The finalist round for the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award will follow along the same timelines and arrangements as the main Taite Music Prize, please see the details listed above.

NZ On Air Outstanding Journalism award

Criteria

This award recognises a music journalist, blogger or editor who has made a creative contribution and significant impact in truth telling and innovative reporting in the Aotearoa music industry. The criteria for this category may include but is not limited to the following. The nominee will:

Be an emerging or established (as opposed to new or novice) creator;
Possess a national and/or international reputation, reach and following for their ethical, fearless and honest storytelling;
Produced professional outputs that have innovated, or transformed the news media domain;
Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to reporting on those in the music profession and industry, in particular musicians and their creative endeavours;
Contains of can encompass audio/video/written and podcasting;
Calendar year will be used for considering entries (1 Jan - 31 Dec)
NZ On Air Outstanding Journalism entries deadline is 5.00pm 31st January 2025.