{"id":2444465,"date":"2026-06-04T09:13:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2444465"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:13:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:13:51","slug":"universal-music-new-zealand-launches-nextwav-artist-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/universal-music-new-zealand-launches-nextwav-artist-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Music New Zealand Launches nextWAV. Artist Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tAUCKLAND \u2014 Universal Music New Zealand is on the hunt for the next generation.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith effect from today, June 4, the major music company presses play on nextWAV., a 12-month industry-first development program that\u2019s designed to find, give a platform to and support emerging young Kiwi talent.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first-of-its-kind initiative is a holistic one, bringing together organizations and professionals from across NZ\u2019s music industry for provide mentorship and development opportunities for aspiring artists on the way up.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cWe created\u00a0nextWAV. to help shape the future of New Zealand music by\u00a0supporting\u00a0local\u00a0artists at the very beginning of their journey,\u201d comments Matt Kidd,<\/strong>\u00a0UMNZ\u00a0co-managing director and\u00a0co-program creator.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt a time when discovery is global and competition is greater than ever,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0critical that\u00a0aspiring\u00a0artists are given access to the right tools,\u00a0networks\u00a0and opportunities early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAdds Myra Hemara<\/strong>, co-managing director, Universal Music\u00a0New Zealand\u00a0and co-program creator: \u201cnextWAV. is designed to play a role in this by bringing together the right\u00a0expertise,\u00a0partners\u00a0and support to help shape the next generation of recording artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParticipants\u00a0will receive one-on-one guidance from\u00a0industry\u00a0professionals across songwriting, production, branding, live\u00a0performance\u00a0and digital strategy,\u00a0reads a statement, in addition to practical experience in studio environments, creative development\u00a0spaces\u00a0and live performance settings.<\/p>\n

\n\tnextWAV., Kidd continues, \u201cis about building confidence,\u00a0capability\u00a0and connection, while\u00a0establishing\u00a0a pathway for New Zealand artists to develop sustainable careers\u00a0both\u00a0at home and on the global stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe program\u2019s principal funding partners are NZ On Air\u00a0and\u00a0Creative New Zealand, while supporters include APRA AMCOS,\u00a0Big Fan,\u00a0Live Nation New Zealand,\u00a0The Tuning Fork,\u00a0New Zealand Music Commission,\u00a0Launchpad\u00a0and\u00a0Play It Strange.<\/p>\n

\n\tNew Zealand has no shortage of world-class talent, from Lorde, to Benee, Broods, Ladyhawke and the legendary Split Enz<\/a>, which reunited in 2026 for their first tour in almost 20 years. What NZ and its artists do struggle with are conditions that are no fault of their own. The tyranny of distance and the cost of touring is one challenge, another is being seen and heard above the frontline talent on both sides of the Atlantic, and the mine of golden oldies that lives in perpetuity on streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAotearoa has a proven\u00a0track record\u00a0of producing globally successful artists and\u00a0remains\u00a0an independent and well-established environment for developing talent,\u201d comments Sean Warner<\/strong>, president of Universal Music Australia & New Zealand. \u201cContinued investment in emerging artists is key to sustaining that momentum, and initiatives such as\u00a0nextWAV. support long-term growth across the wider music ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThose young developing artists (aged 16-18) who are \u201cready to take the next step\u201d are invited to apply.\u00a0 Hopefuls must be permanent residents or citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand, have parent or guardian consent, and available to participate in the program on the key dates outlined in the Programme Structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tApplications open today, Thursday June 4, 2026 and close Sunday, July 19, 2026.\u00a0Further information is available at\u00a0www.nextwav.co.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.billboard.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUCKLAND \u2014 Universal Music New Zealand is on the hunt for the next generation. With effect from today, June 4, the major music company presses play on nextWAV., a 12-month industry-first development program that\u2019s designed to find, give a platform to and support emerging young Kiwi talent. The first-of-its-kind initiative is a holistic one, bringing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2444466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[348309],"class_list":["post-2444465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-bbnews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Universal-Music-New-Zealand-Launches-nextWAV-Artist-Program.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2444467,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444465\/revisions\/2444467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2444466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}