New Zealand lost its music media, and what we're building to replace it

New Zealand's music venues and record stores have closed at an alarming rate, but the underlying music scene remains vibrant and economically significant, contributing $451 million directly to GDP in 2023. However, music journalism and media coverage have virtually disappeared—the country now has fewer than a handful of full-time music journalists and no major publications employ dedicated music critics. This coverage collapse preceded the venue closures and represents a broader global crisis in music media that hit New Zealand particularly hard due to its smaller market size.