Recorded Music NZ announces 2026 distributionJuly 3, 2026

Recorded Music NZ has finalised the 2026 distribution and payments have been made.

We are distributing a total of $12.208 million to rights holders and recording artists, with $2.172 million of that allocated to Aotearoa recordings.

The distribution was managed through our new data and distribution system, which we are continuing to roll out with our systems partner PPL.

Rights Holders can view their statements and track allocations by logging into myRecordedMusic – where the details will be available in the coming days.

If you are expecting a distribution and have not received it, or have any other pātai please contact memberservices@recordedmusic.co.nz

Further notes:

• As set out in our recent Year in Review, the 2026 distribution total, while up slightly from 2025, is still lower than in 2024. This is due to two key factors - changes in the timing of income from OneMusic, our public performance licence partner, and extra costs due to investing in the new distribution system. We have worked hard to manage these factors and to maximise the distribution to rights holders and artists, and we expect to see a return to previous distribution levels in 2027.
• The distribution has been allocated according to our Distribution Policy and Transitional Schedule which can be viewed here
• Recording Artist statements and track allocations will be available on system when we launch the artist portal in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you’re an artist and wish to view a full track-level summary of how your total distribution has been allocated, please email memberservices@recordedmusic.co.nz
• We will share more soon about the ongoing system rollout and other policy and process changes we are making to improve efficiency and align more closely with global practice.
• As previously noted [link] we expect to make further updates to the Distribution Policy and our Master Rights Agreements during 2026 as we continue to refine the operation of our new data and distribution system and align more closely with global practice.