Okay, I have five columns in which to change the local musical world, or at least raise some questions. Perhaps I can answer some, too, and stir up debate if possible.

To kick things off, let us look at the question 1 – in my role as artist manager - am most commonly asked: 'How am I going to pay for these musical dreams?”
Sometimes I wish there was a perfect answer. Reality is not so simple.
Music, how do we fund thee? Let us count the ways: artists' savings, day jobs, covers gigs, door-profits, music sales, personal loans, busking, credit cards, TradeMe, band merchandise, loans or gifts from family, sponsorship, record label investment, forward-funding from fan clubs or industry investors, arts trusts, philanthropists, and the relatively recent spectre of state funding.
Clearly there are many ways to skin the funding cat. A committed artist will employ any number of these, at various stages of their career.
Here, though, let us deal with the much-maligned political hot potato of state funding. The whole contentious issue of government using taxpayers' money to fund art is prone to much misunderstanding, misrepresentation, misinformation, hysteria and downright voodoo, but let us see what is involved.
The two government arts-funding arms are New Zealand On Air and Creative New Zealand. Their logos appear from time to time, and may have set thoughts in motion about what distinguishes each organisation from the other.
For musicians, the distinction is simple: New Zealand On Air is aligned with state and private broadcasters, and seeks to increase the amount, profile and quality of New Zealand music available through broadcasts. Think TV, radio and the likes of marketable artists Luke Thompson or Gin.
Creative New Zealand, on the other hand, is charged with increasing the quality and availability of New Zealand music as art. Think specialised productions, concerts, tours, workshops, seminars and recipients as diverse as Pacific Curls or Chamber Music New Zealand.
Another way of looking at it is, if you are writing and seeking funding for radio and TV-friendly, commercially-exploitable music, then the best avenue of approach is through New Zealand On Air. Conversely, if you are not pursuing airplay, don't waste time with this organisation. If your music is something other than mainstream, yet with musical and artistic value, and subsequent appeal to a recognized or existing audience, Creative New Zealand is where to enquire.
Heed these words of advice, however: when applying for any kind of state funding, bank on one near certainty: not getting it. It is certainly unlikely on the first application and likely not ever. Not only is the funding process extremely rigorous - making talk of a pot of cash available for one-and-all ridiculous – the competition is tough and standards high. The reality is there are dozens, sometimes hundreds, of your peers seeking their own piece of the funding. The odds are stacked highly against everybody. As an example, according to Emily Upston of New Zealand On Air, in the final funding round for 2008, more than 270 artists applied for five available New Recording Artist Grants. Ten per cent of those applications came from Tauranga and none were successful. In the near future, details on some of the contestable grants.