Funding rounds & dates

Te Māngai Pāho aims to identify organisations with a track record in the music business to apply for funding to support wānanga and collaborative initiatives that will develop popular and contemporary waiata reo Māori. Proposed initiatives should aim to:

• create new waiata reo Māori with a focus on song structure, melody, and well-crafted reo Māori lyrics,
• return a minimum number of waiata reo Māori demo recordings for use in future Waiata Reo Māori and Waiata Tuarea funding applications to Te Māngai Pāho,
• grow the capability of participants to confidently express themselves in waiata reo Māori.

Applications and proposals should be for activity between 1 September 2026 and 30 June 2027.

Information Session

Our Kaihāpai (advisors) will be available to provide clarity on priorities, processes and criteria; and to answer questions at an online session at 1:00pm on Thursday 11 June 2026. The link to join the session is in the RFP.

Read the Oro Hāpai RFP here.

The purpose of this funding is to support the career development of emerging reo Māori singer-songwriters and music artists. Oro Kura Roa is an opportunity designed to support an emerging artist(s) to focus on their music career and creativity full-time for a short, intensive period. During this time, the selected artist(s) will expand their professional network and build their music business skills, while producing and releasing a multi-song project in te reo Māori.

Funding is available for the production and promotion (including aligned video assets) of single waiata containing 50% or more reo Māori, that are original, and have not been released before.

Waiata we are looking to support will be for Aotearoa audiences and demonstrate a capacity to positively impact New Zealanders’ attitudes towards te reo Māori by providing audiences an opportunity to engage with the language in a way that is inclusive and within their reach.

Eligible costs: mātanga reo (reo māori consultant), studio engineer, music producer, music director, session musicians, studio hire, mixing, mastering, video asset creation, publicist, campaign services. Other reasonable costs may be considered.

The Waiata Tuarea funding round supports the creation of high-quality waiata reo Māori recording projects for diverse audience interests. Eligible projects include EPs, albums and other multi-song projects containing at least four waiata. The funded songs will help build a sustained pipeline of waiata reo Māori for digital music platforms and radio airplay, contributing to the normalisation and wellbeing of te reo Māori.

Priority is given to content for fluent audiences, with 70–100% reo Māori across the project, that also identifies a clear target audience demographic. Each waiata must still meet the minimum requirement of 50% te reo Māori.

Waiata Takitahi is a co-fund and collaboration between Te Māngai Pāho and Irirangi Te Motu | NZ On Air. Launched in 2020, the ambition for this fund is to enable the creation of brand-new waiata with strong reo Māori lyrical content that have a good chance of connecting with the audiences in Aotearoa.

Applications from New Zealand artists who are interested in recording and releasing a bilingual single with general audience appeal and a minimum of 25% reo Māori in the song lyrics are welcome.

Artists from all backgrounds are welcome. However, we expect the use of te reo Māori in the song to be supported by a Poutiaki Reo (Māori language advisor) to ensure ideas are well articulated and crafted for a reo Māori audience.

Applicants are expected to confirm a Poutiaki Reo in their tono. Information demonstrating experience and ability of the Poutiaki Reo to create well-crafted lyrics may be requested.

Pūtea can be used towards a professional, release-ready recording of the waiata, video content and other visual collateral to assist with the release, along with promotion, publicity and marketing. We expect that some of the pūtea will need to be used to engage a Poutiaki Reo to ensure correct use of language and context in the final waiata.

NZ On Air’s mandatory Artist Creation Fee (ACF) will be added to the funding grant in the final drawdown. This fee covers the artist's creative work on the project.

More information about the 2026 Waiata Takitahi round is provided in the links below:

• Waiata Takitahi - Application Guidelines
• Waiata Takitahi - Budget Expectations
• Waiata Takitahi - FAQs & Criteria

Supporting established music organisations and initiatives. Keep an eye on our website and newsletter for opportunities to apply for industry support funding.