The demonstration follows HMG’s submission of the Fair Play Aotearoadiscussion paper to relevant ministers and government agencies. The paper outlines a practical model through which public-sector organisations could use more locally created music while helping ensure that a greater proportion of the associated royalties reaches participating New Zealand artists and rights holders.
What is Fair Play Aotearoa?
Fair Play Aotearoa is an integrated background-music and direct-licensing service developed by Heart Music Group.
The platform combines:
- professionally managed music;
- a dedicated media player;
- direct licensing of participating New Zealand repertoire;
- technology designed to report what is played across participating locations; and
- royalty calculation and distribution to participating artists and rights holders.
Unlike a conventional background-music supplier, HMG also represents the participating artists and manages the direct licences covering their music. This creates a clearer connection between the organisations playing music and the creators whose work is being used.
A potential public-sector opportunity
HMG’s discussion paper invites the Government to consider a pilot of Fair Play Aotearoa within suitable public-facing environments.
Potential settings could include:
- reception and waiting areas;
- libraries, museums and galleries;
- visitor centres;
- government cafés and shared spaces;
- public-sector events; and
- music played to callers while they are on hold.
A pilot could provide a practical way to test the platform’s playback, reporting and licensing capabilities in participating locations while giving more New Zealand artists an opportunity to have their music heard.
It could also demonstrate how public-sector music use can contribute to the local creative economy without requiring organisations to abandon the wider repertoire available through existing licensing arrangements.
Years of work behind the platform
Reaching this point has required years of legal, regulatory, commercial and technical development.
Heart Music Group has worked to:
- establish direct rights and licensing arrangements with participating artists;
- develop artist-onboarding and rights-administration processes;
- engage with APRA AMCOS and OneMusic on practical direct-licensing pathways;
- develop playback reporting that distinguishes directly licensed music from other repertoire;
- build and internally test the Fair Play Aotearoa media player;
- create systems for calculating and distributing royalties; and
- engage with businesses, government agencies and industry organisations about potential implementation.
The dedicated Fair Play media player has undergone internal continuous-playback testing, successfully operating overnight and recording playback activity accurately within HMG’s test environment. Testing in participating business or public-sector locations would form part of any future pilot.
For HMG founder and managing director Marty Bryant, the opportunity to demonstrate the platform at Parliament represents an important milestone.
“Fair Play Aotearoa began with a simple idea: New Zealand organisations should be able to use more local music, understand where their licensing payments are going and create a more direct benefit for the artists whose work they play.
“It has taken an enormous amount of work to turn that idea into a functioning platform. I am grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate what we have built and discuss where it might contribute within the public sector.”
An exploratory discussion
The upcoming demonstration is an opportunity to present the platform, answer questions and explore whether a suitable public-sector pilot could be developed.
HMG is nevertheless encouraged that Fair Play Aotearoa has progressed to the point where its potential can be discussed and demonstrated at Parliament.
We look forward to sharing the platform and continuing the conversation about how public-sector music use could create more opportunities for independent New Zealand artists.