What a voice 🥰

Sound waves aye? Are you listening? 🎶

Come on NZ! Get Real! 🥰

❤️ love this xx

Thought Bubble: Job Security, Youth and Age... 💭🎓💼⏳ I was talking to a local mum the other day. Our kids have grown up together, and she was telling me about once being a university dropout. I laughed along, telling her about my Bugger All (BA) 🎓🤣 ...which wasn't particularly useful for getting a job in the 80s, because there were no jobs! It feels a bit like that now. I remember snagging a job interview at Radio New Zealand to be a copywriter... but I just didn't have enough confidence to pull it off, and I didn't get the job. 😬 And I wanted to be a musician anyway... 🎸🎶 So I did a lot of part-time work to get by. "Delivered fish to restaurants, sold gold and bling and rings, I've cleaned a lot of hotel rooms, sold beer in dirty bars, packed records in cold warehouses and polished lots of cars" (From my song 'Love and Conviction' 🎵) Here's the thing... it took me until I was 40 before I really knew what I wanted to do. And even though I felt like a bit of a loser at the time, all those part-time jobs helped me get to where I am now. And right now, I feel like I'm just getting started! 🚀✨ What I've figured out is that the hardest thing to come to terms with was not having a clear goal when I was young. I didn't think you could make a living out of music and art. So that is what happened. 🎨 I spent a lot of my life wanting to be a musician and writer, but not having the courage to do what I think I was put here to do. So, if you really want to do something, 'keep your eye on the prize', because in the end, you do get there. 🎯🌟 But if you have to sweep a lot of floors, kiss a lot of job frogs 🐸💋 and do jobs you don't particularly want to do in the meantime... it's OK! If you have a clear idea about what you want to do, you'll find a way. The hardest part is knowing what you want. After that, it's all about the zigzag until you achieve your goal. ↗️↘️↗️ And sometimes, along the way, you segue into something else that's even better. 💫 As for me, my BA did come in useful in the end. 🎓🤣 And the university dropout has carved her own way into a job she loves now. ❤️ Never underestimate how well your dreams can carry you. ✨💫 And perhaps that's the thing about getting older... you realise that all those detours weren't necessarily detours after all... they were training wheels. 🌿❤️ #jobs #careers #goals #dreams *photo - the making of my music video "Geraldine" - St Kevins Arcade x

A bit of light reading for lunch!

🎵 I’m just going to nutshell this. I’ve been an APRA member for a very long time and have witnessed many changes over the years. One thing that stands out is the enormous growth in revenue collected by music royalty societies, both here in Australasia and globally. And yet, despite all this growth, it feels increasingly difficult for local songwriters, composers and independent artists to earn a sustainable living from their work. So, who is really benefiting from all this increased income? You don’t need to be an industry expert to see that the corporate whales are doing very well, while independent artists are left fighting over the krill. 🐋 And the latest figures from APRA AMCOS should concern every local musician. 🚨 This is NOT a great result for our music. ("Shrinking spaces for domestic music: 96% of the music streamed in Aotearoa FY26 was imported. Local content has seen a startling 28.6% decline in five years to just 4% on streaming and 1.7% on User Generated Content (UGC)") Think about that. Just 4% of music streamed in Aotearoa is local. While royalty collections continue to grow, New Zealand music is losing market share in its own country. That means a substantial proportion of the royalties generated here is flowing offshore rather than supporting our own songwriters, composers, publishers and music businesses. And this isn't just a New Zealand issue. Australian creators are also facing enormous pressure in an increasingly globalised music market. I believe it is imperative that our music organisations, particularly those receiving government funding, take a serious look at where resources are being invested and whether those investments are genuinely strengthening our local music industry. Because something is clearly out of balance. And I think it is fair to ask APRA AMCOS some difficult questions. 👉 If royalty income is growing, but local music's share of the market is shrinking, what is being done to address that? APRA AMCOS is our collection society. Its role is to collect and distribute royalties, but surely there is also a responsibility to advocate strongly for the long-term sustainability of the songwriters and composers it represents. I am not suggesting APRA AMCOS can solve this problem alone. But I do think we need more transparency, greater accountability and a much stronger collective strategy to ensure New Zealand and Australian music isn't progressively squeezed out of its own markets. Growing royalty revenue is one measure of success. Growing opportunities and income for our own music creators should be another. 🇳🇿 We need to be talking about this. NZ Music Commission Jan Hellriegel Music & Words Songbroker Music Publishing Aeroplane Music Services APRA AMCOS APRA AMCOS NZ OneMusic New Zealand Songbroker Notice Board Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ) @RecordedMusicNewZeal Source: APRA AMCOS Year in Review mailchi.mp/916046dfe419/apra… #NZMusic #AustralianMusic #APRAAMCOS #Songwriters #MusicIndustry #SupportLocalMusic

I hope this isn't AI ... but it is beautiful x

Love this reaction ....

🌿✨ **WESTERN SPRINGS, WISHING STONES & GUMBOOTS** 🥾💫 This morning, I stood on my favourite wishing stone at Western Springs. ❤️ It's funny how, no matter where I've lived or what stage of life I've been in, I always seem to find my way back to this very special place. I've been standing on this particular flat stone, making wishes, since I was a little girl. And this morning, it got me thinking... 💭 Dad used to take me to the Saturday morning warm-ups at Western Springs Speedway. While he was busy, I'd tear around the Springs with my bare feet, snotty nose and unkempt hair cut like a bowl. 😂 I spent HOURS on that stone. Humming tunes, dreaming up songs, imagining the future and wishing for things to come true. 🎶✨ Over the years, I've conjured up songs, businesses and all sorts of ideas on that very stone. And because of that yes, I DO believe wishes come true, because most things I give my attention to... come true in the end. Even if it takes years. I think when we wish for something, we begin to SEE it. We use our minds to imagine a future that doesn't exist yet... and then, if we're brave enough, we go out and MAKE it happen. 💫 Although, as the saying goes... "be careful what you wish for!" 😉 Which brings me to the gumboots... 🥾😂 One day, I was lucky enough to ride around the Western Springs track in a midget racing car, sitting on the knee of driver Eddie James. 🏎️💨 I remember yelling, "GO FASTER! GO FASTER!" And it did it feel like we were flying! But when I climbed out, I burned my leg on the hot exhaust pipe. 🔥 Did I tell Dad? Absolutely NOT! I was having far too much fun and didn't want to be taken home. So I pulled on my gumboots, kept my mouth shut and carried on. Unfortunately, the gumboot stuck to the burn... something we discovered when we finally got home. 😬 I still have the scar to this day! And this morning, standing on that same wishing stone, I found myself thinking about that scar, those gumboots and all the wishes I've made over a lifetime. There I was again... only this time, instead of humming a little tune, I was "conducting an entire imaginary orchestra" 🎼🎻🎺🥁... seeing, hearing and imagining the rollout of my next project. Same stone. Same dreamer. Just a few more years, a few more scars and a whole lot more life experience. ❤️ And then it struck me... Maybe it's time to stop quietly wishing and start making some noise. **It's time to TAKE THE GUMBOOTS OFF... AND DREAM BIG!** 🥾🚀✨ Because that little barefoot girl with the snotty nose, the wild imagination and the need for speed is still very much alive in me. Watch this space... 🎶✨

Wow, that is something. Maybe Mars is the limit?