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Music
In the Waikato music is a vibrant but rather small creative sector. There are numerous independent performers, entertainers, bands and venues.
- Within this sector there are many performers, both professional and otherwise, not though numbers are difficult to ascertain.
- More accurately measurable are the support services to these performers, this includes music retail, instrument retail, equipment hire, venues and music recording.
There are many actively performing artists in the region, some are professional and work at events others are independent music acts. There are many internet-related resources to find news and information on these acts such as Bands.co.nz and Htown.co.nz, however most of the established business in this region is in the provision of services to this industry rather than performance.
There are currently four well established music studios in the region situated in the Hamilton region which all offer comprehensive and complete music production. All of these studios are relatively small and employ on average 3 persons one of which is usually the owner. The clients that attend these studios are a mix of local commercial clients (advertisements), artists who occasionally are from outside the region.
Another important support industry provides sound equipment and expertise. Most of the organisations that work in this area are small with less than 5 employees, and often one of these will be the owner. An example is PK Sound who draws most of their clients from the Waikato, but also from Auckland. They maintain strong relationships in this region and gather most of their clients such as New Zealand operatic groups from word of mouth within the industry and otherwise maintain a low profile. Another prominent group is Vidcom who also provide visual and audio solutions, Vidcom is based in Hamilton and maintains strong links with Auckland as this is where the head office is located. Though Vidcom is much larger than other independent groups like PK Sound, they still rely heavily on word of mouth to stimulate business. Within this area of the industry there is a lot of competition for work, however to deliver a quality service the groups that are involved in this industry often work together on a casual basis and will liaise at specific events. This alliance is organised by a number of individuals and is known as the TPS Group.
Music instrument retail in the Waikato is dominated by small stores which hire a few specialists. Most of the clients to these businesses are local, however some have national business. While retail in new instruments is important to the stores in the area, they also repair instruments. Within the greater Waikato there are approximately fifteen music retail stores and roughly all of these supply repair services. There are a small number of dedicated repair stores and these are usually music instrument speciality stores as well such as Keith MacMillan Stringed Instruments.
Music retail (CD/DVD etc) in the Waikato is dominated by chain stores and national organisations; the Waikato has very few independent retailers and no visible second-hand music dealers of scale, some local material is sold at a few of the independent retailers, but other than that there are few official links that local artists can use.
There is a strong desire to build upon the unofficial connections that have been made in the region and to make them stronger. For example within equipment hire the casual relationships that take place at certain events or the use of the internet to spread word of mouth about specific bands. Many of the small organisations in the area work from home or have no specific public 'face'. The nature of the work in this industry means that most of the clients are local, but it appears that outside of this region the link to Auckland is quite significant.
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www.htown.co.nz
www.nzmusician.co.nz
www.bands.co.nz
Click Sound View website
Dudley Studios View website
Ian McLaughlin Guitar Studio View website
Logic Research Electronics Ltd View website
Musicare Sound View website
Rockshop View website
Sanderson Guitars View website
Shearer's Music Works View website
Sounds View website
TJ's Music Works View website
Vidcom New Zealand View website
Weirs Musicworks Ltd View website
Acme Piano Care
Andrew Webb
Any Audio & Visual
Dannys Music World
Don McIntosh
Hanna Kevin
Integrity Piano Services
Jepson R W
Keith MacMillan Stringed Instruments
Music Oasis
Musicare
P. K. Sound
Peter Docherty
Puriri Grove
The CD & DVD Store
TLC Piano Restorers
Tracs Records
Valley Music
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