The Taite Music Prize (TMP) 2012 Terms

Any record label is eligible to nominate albums for Taite Music Prize consideration.

As this is a critically judged award for originality, please consider the artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence of each album in its entirety when nominating.

The Prize is in the form of a physical prize and a payment of $10,000.

Nomination Process

Members of IMNZ may nominate up to five albums released in the previous calendar year (Jan to Dec 2011).

Non-IMNZ member record labels may nominate up to five albums released in the previous calendar year (Jan to Dec 2011) at a cost of $25+gst per nomination.

If self-nominating, the record label must also make available two gratis copies of the relevant CD/Vinyl to IMNZ. If the album was only released digitally, nominations must be accompanied by 2 CD burns at no cost to IMNZ.

Please be aware that IMNZ will make these available to the judges via streaming for the Prize judging process of the nominated albums. One copy of the nominated album will be retained by IMNZ for archival purposes.

It is important for the success of this event and the future of the prize that nominated artists are available to attend the TMP event in Auckland on April 20^th 2012. If self-nominating, the record label must also acknowledge and confirm that they have notified the relevant artist.

Ineligible entries will be notified to the nominating IMNZ member immediately after the IMNZ board meeting in January 2012.

All entries will be accepted via the application form on the IMNZ website (www.indies.co.nz); however final entry is at the absolute discretion of the IMNZ board.

IMNZ must receive all entries by 5pm on Monday the 23^rd January 2012.

Finalist Process

If your nominated album is selected as a finalist, it will enter Phase Two of the judging process, and IMNZ will contact the releasing record label to supply copies of physical stock of the album for that secondary process, at cost price to IMNZ. This will allow the ten person judging panel to assess the album in its entirety including the music, packaging and album artwork. The physical copies of the finalist albums will be retained by the judging panel as renumeration for their individual efforts.

Eligibility

Only albums released during the previous calendar year (Jan 1^st to Dec 31^st 2011) are eligible.

The album’s release date is defined as when it was made available for purchase via physical/digital retailers by the public in NZ.

An album is considered eligible for the TMP 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 TMP. 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 NZ. 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 NZ based office.

Solo artists, groups and production teams are all eligible as long as the album satisfies the criteria outlined above.

Judging process and timeline

All nominated albums will be received by IMNZ no later than 23^rd January 2012.

The judging process will take place over two phases:

Phase One: All IMNZ members plus approx. 20 non-IMNZ music judges will rank their top 10 albums from the submitted nominations. The non-IMNZ member judges will include selected musicians, music journalists and music industry personnel. Listening and voting facilities will be available for all judges on-line. The nominations with the most votes will be chosen as the TMP finalists.

Phase Two: A ten person judging panel will be appointed by IMNZ. This group will be announced along with the TMP finalists. They will meet to decide the winner of the TMP.

Judges 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.

The Taite Music Prize winning album will be announced at an event in Auckland on the 20^th of April 2012.

All decisions of the judges are final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Taite Music Prize 2012 nomination form is here.