Well another year with NZ Music Month beckons and the discussions start regarding its benefit to the industry apart from the select few. What is probably going to cause more debate is whether KFC should be sponsoring the event. Obviously they have a lot of money to throw at the venture, with them running "Sounds of your Hometown" leading into NZ Music Month where you vote for your favourite unsigned regional band. The band with the most votes is selected to play at their local KFC and gets judged by record company reps, the winner of which receives $15000 towards recording, promotion etc. This seems like a good opportunity for unsigned bands to get heard, but at what cost? And to what benefit of KFC?
Surely this endorsement from Kiwi musicians of KFC is great for KFC, but how many musicians actually eat KFC let alone believe this is a good company to align with. Will KFC's morals be offset by supporting Kiwi music... the minimum wage and caged battery farmed chickens forgotten.
Are they truly passionate about supporting NZ Music? I regard NZ Music as the best the world has to offer - something sacrosanct, beautiful, honest, expressive and natural when many see KFC as a Global Corporation polluting the world with rubbish and obesity.
Does NZ musics integrity get degraded by such a marriage of conflicting goals. Does KFC's ulterior motive bother the discerning public in NZ or more to the point internationally.
Is there not a NZ company with enough money that would be better suited to sponsor this event?
Mephisto sums up alot of attitudes I agree with, although personally I think NZ Music Month is beneficial, its just the way they are going about it. KFC - WTF!? Thousands of bands in NZ are doing great things, genre defying, beat bending, breaking the mould of conservative pop shit, but where is their exposure? Would Split Enz have got NZOA funding if NZ Music Month had been around? Hell No. But look where they got. Rather than NZOA being bullied by the Record Label bosses to support shit that will sell their albums, I would choose Mike Chunn (Play It Strange), John Toogood (Shihad) and Daniel Haimona (Dam Native) for the panel that promotes potential future famous NZ up & coming bands and hands out the cash to give them exposure during NZ Music Month.
Christianity - Having seen many musicians struggle to make a living, Im in favour of them making a buck where ever possible, but being a whore to KFC is well different to being supported by the government.