2016 was a mixed year for the music industry in New Zealand. The key success story for the music industry in New Zealand is the growth in online streaming, which facilitated the second consecutive year of growth in total retail revenue. After a bumper year in 2015, live music returned to historical levels.
In 2016, the music industry in New Zealand directly contributed $252 million to national gross domestic product (GDP) and the equivalent of 2,152 full time equivalent employees (FTEs). After accounting for multiplier effects, the music industry contributed a total of $543 million to national GDP and the equivalent of 4,697 full-time jobs. New Zealand generated content was responsible for approximately 26% to 28% of the direct impacts.
Strengthening consumer preferences towards online consumption has grown the overall retail sector – but the challenge remains for the industry to accurately and adequately capture earnings from online music consumption.