Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand and kiwi legends SIX60 launch Massive Records, an exciting new joint venture record label combining the A&R direction and mentorship of SIX60 with the marketing and promotional power of the Sony Music New Entertainment Zealand team.
Massive Records is predominantly run out of SIX60’s Auckland studio where the band mentors, records and runs part of its label operations with their growing roster that includes chart-toppers COTERIE (Te Aupouri, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rāngi), and emerging singer-songwriters HINA (Ngāti Raukawa) and Spencer Coyle.
“We’re stoked to finally announce Massive Records, a label run by artists for artists in the modern world,” says SIX60’s Matiu Walters. “Twelve years ago, we created our own label out of necessity, which allowed us to share our music with the world and gave us years of experience controlling every aspect of our journey. We have always desired to share that knowledge and use our position to help the next generation of artists and that’s why we’ve launched Massive Records. We love music, and we love seeing artists’ dreams come true.”
Speaking on the joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand, Walters says, “We had worked with them on projects in the past, and loved those experiences, and we respect Kim Boshier and her team.”
Vanessa Picken, Chair & CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia & New Zealand, says, “I am so excited to partner with the immensely talented Six60 and the incredible artists that they will be bringing into the Sony family. SIX60 share our ethos when it comes to finding and developing new artists and the pathway to success. Fostering and amplifying talent is at the core of what we do, and I cannot wait to see our partnership flourish.”
Kim Boshier, Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand says, “At Sony Music NZ we’ve long been fans of SIX60 and everything they’ve achieved so we’re excited to finally be working together. We first met Ji and Eli when they produced Mitch James’ Platinum debut album, and witnessed first-hand how great they were, not just as producers but as mentors to young artists. We’re really looking forward to building this new label together.”
The joint venture began in 2021 with the signing of COTERIE; a signing led by SIX60 multi-instumentalist and songwriter, Marlon Gerbes. “The brothers are such an amazing whānau, and that spirit is strong throughout them and their music. Working with them has been loads of fun,” says Gerbes.
The day-to-day running of the label is overseen by Massive Records Label Manager, Aroha Rerekura (Ngāpuhi, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi), previously Product Manager for Universal Pictures New Zealand for over 6 years. Rerekura is the backbone to the everyday operations for SIX60 and the Massive Records roster. She brings her experience in delivering largescale projects to the fore in this new role, guiding the releases to delivery with her trademark know-how, can-do attitude.
The Massive Records team are excited for the future of their upcoming talent, HINA and Spencer Coyle. Marlon Gerbes was instantly drawn to the haunting, cerebral sounds of HINA following a recommendation from a friend and the rest was history. HINA came through the Pao Pao Pao program, mentored by TEEKS and Ngatapa Black, setting a steady grounding in her songwriting, artform and māoritanga.
Word of mouth truly is the kiwi way. SIX60 guitarist and songwriter, Ji Fraser chanced upon a bag of demos from teenage Spencer Coyle, with the recommendation of Coyle’s boss at the time and Fraser’s cousin. New Zealand is small that way. Coyle’s debut single ‘Somebody To Love’ was written with Fraser in the final minutes of a recording session, demonstrating the songwriting power of this pair.
Today COTERIE release their debut self-titled album, a long-time labour of love and the first album to be released under Massive Records. Marking the occassion, SIX60 and COTERIE team up on a new single ‘Always Beside You’ which features some heartwarming footage between the bands on SIX60’s ongoing SIX60 Saturdays Stadium tour.
The driving force of Massive Records revolves around a Tuakana system of mentoring, nurturing and guidence from the SIX60 whānau to the signed artists. The members of SIX60 can be seen working day and night across the recording and songwriting process with the artists in a producer capacity, with the SIX60 studio becoming a binding wharenui for everyone involved. Massive Records is a vessel built to navigate the future of Aotearoa New Zealand popular music by investing in promising musical talent with the support and guidence of the SIX60 and Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand whānau.
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