The 16th annual Taite Music Prize, along with four other New Zealand music industry awards, was presented on 15 April 2025 at a ceremony in Auckland, organised by Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ). The winner of the main award was Mokotron (Tiopira McDowell) for his album WAEREA. The night's other winners were Shihad, Byllie-Jean, Rohan Evans, and Chris Schulz.
The ceremony and its main award share the "Taite Music Prize" name. Sometimes called the Taite Main, this award recognised New Zealand's best album of 2024. The winner, WAEREA by Mokotron, was selected by a panel of 12 judges who were not publicly named until after their decision was announced.
Criteria for the award include artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence. The prize included $12,500 from Recorded Music NZ.
The judges described WAEREA as a "bold and uncompromising statement [...that...] not only confronts present-day realities but also expands the horizons of bass music in Aotearoa". It was the first album in te reo MÃÂori to win the Taite Music Prize.
Mokotron, whose real name is Dr. Tiopira McDowell (NgÃÂti Hine), wrote and composed WAEREA alone. The day after his win credited his music's originality to his tendency to not engage much with other popular music like L.A.B. or Katchafire. The Taite win surprised him, and he was considering spending the prize money to upgrade his studio space in his west Auckland garage.
An open call for nominations ran from December 2024 to January 2025, and a total of 81 albums were entered. This list went to a vote of all IMNZ members, 584 of whom voted. Ten finalists were announced on March 3.
Troy Kingi, winner of the 2020 Taite Music Prize, was shortlisted for a fourth time. Gussie Larkin of Earth Tongue also made her fourth final, after three with Mermaidens. Fazerdaze became a three-time finalist and Anna Coddington, Mel Parsons and Delaney Davidson all added to one earlier appearance.
Taite Music Prize judging panels are kept anonymous before the award is announced. In alphabetical order, the 2025 judges were:
Killjoy by Shihad, first released in 1995, was the IMNZ Classic Record for 2025. This was announced on 27 March, ahead of the award presentation. There was no public nomination process or vote. Shihad's final ever tour, Loud Forever, had concluded only weeks earlier. The award was presented by Murray Cammick (winner of the Independent Spirit Award at the 2020 Taite Music Prize).
The Best Independent Debut Award, sponsored by Auckland Live, went to Byllie-jean (NgÃÂti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, NgÃÂti Pahauwera) for her EP Filter. In her acceptance speech, Byllie-jean described it as a "win for all wÃÂhine MÃÂori". The award included $2,000 cash and studio recording time with Parachute Studios.
Like the Taite Main, an open nomination round for the Best Independent Debut Award was held in early 2025. A shortlist of four finalists was announced before the award ceremony. Pony Baby's Jazmine Mary, who won the Best Debut Award of 2022 for her solo album The Licking of a Tangerine, became a two-time finalist.
In its fourth year, The Outstanding Music Journalism Award went to Chris Schulz, author of the Substack newsletter, Boiler Room. He was one of three finalists announced ahead of the award ceremony. Schulz was late to the ceremony, so the award was accepted on his behalf by fellow nominee Karl Puschmann. It was presented by Suzanne De Spong of New Zealand On Air. The next day Schulz wrote, "it feels pretty good to win an award!". He described Boiler Room as "my super personal lilâ newsletter, where I try to unpack the best and worst of this wayward, wonky, wonderful music industry of ours, with my name at the top of every single edition."
The winner of the Independent Spirit award for 2025 was Rohan Evans, founder The Wine Cellar. For 20 years his music venue in Auckland's St Kevin's Arcade had championed local artists, emerging talent, and independent music. Evans ran The Wine Cellar from 2004 until mid-2024, when it was physically merged with the neighbouring Whammy Bar to form Double Whammy.
The 2025 Taite Music Prize ceremony, on 15 April, was the seventh to be held at Auckland's Q Theatre. Performers on the night included two previous winners of the Best Debit Album award, Jazmine Mary and JUJULIPPS. Attendees included Government minister Chris Bishop and Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.