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Bic Runga, Fazerdaze, Troy Kingi, and more Kiwi artists are joining forces with Aotearoa New Zealand music startup Lume.<\/p>\n
Found in October of last year, Lume is an album-centric music app backed by investors including Lorde,\u00a0Substack\u2019s Hamish McKenzie, Letterboxd\u2019s Karl von Randow, Previously Unavailable\u2019s James Hurman, and former Sky boss John Fellet.<\/p>\n
According to a press release, Lume \u201ccan be thought of as both a digital collection and a digital store.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nascent platform brings \u201cboxed set-style content \u2014 demos, live tracks, extra artwork, and behind-the-scenes footage \u2014 to app stores.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lume app will go live on both Google\u2019s Android and Apple iOS on July 17th.<\/p>\n
It works on a \u201cbuy once, own forever\u201d model, rather than a subscription, and 80% of net revenue \u201cis reserved for artists and their partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-founder Sacha Judd, described as \u201ca fandom expert,\u201d believes Lume\u2019s content \u201crepresents a holy grail for fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re artefacts which add context to albums, and don\u2019t belong on the social web. Here they\u2019re beautifully housed and presented, and reserved for only those who really believe in and truly support an artist,\u201d Judd says.<\/p>\n
Lume has already confirmed a partnership with RMNZ, \u201censuring chart eligibility on day one\u201d; \u201ccritical music publishing arrangements\u201d with APRA AMCOS; and deals with renowned independent labels such as Flying Nun, Lil\u2019 Chief Records, and Melted Ice Cream.<\/p>\n
In addition to vaulting to an immediate global release, Lume has today revealed its first full slate of artists and releases.<\/p>\n
Local artists championed by Rolling Stone AU\/NZ<\/em>, including Erny Belle<\/a>, Fables<\/a>, Mainard Larkin<\/a>, Womb<\/a>, and our Future of Music 2026<\/a><\/em> members Dick Move, Earth Tongue, Vera Ellen, and Geneva AM feature in the first slate.<\/p>\n Classic reissued releases from the likes of Fur Patrol, Die! Die! Die!, The Phoenix Foundation, and Tiki Taane have also been secured by Lume.<\/p>\n Check out the full first slate below.<\/p>\n The press release states that the Lume team is \u201cnow deep into assembling\u201d the first of its \u201cnovel approach to albums,\u201d which Lume\u2019s team explains is \u201cessentially a sequel to vinyl or CDs,\u201d but \u201cwith far greater possibilities due to the devices on which they\u2019re housed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve received truly incredible archival material,\u201d says co-founder and head of artist relations Justin Warren. \u201cEverything from historically important unreleased live sets, to the voice notes where iconic New Zealand songs first began, to diary pages or exciting cover versions.\u201d<\/p>\n