#AUNZ

[thelensofyashunews]

9LIVES SHARES NEW SINGLE "MULTIMILLIONAIRE" (W/ TRIPPIE REDD & ODETARI)

9lives, the New Zealand-born multi-hyphenate artist and producer, has just shared his new single “MULTIMILLIONAIRE” (w/ Trippie Redd & Odetari). 9lives is the artist at the forefront of the sigilkore scene, a fast-growing, internet-born Rap subgenre which combines elements of Trap, Cloud Rap, Hyperpop, and Electronic music into his own supernatural sound. At just 19 years old, 9lives has already accumulated over 600 Million Streams, and consistently goes viral across TikTok thanks to his eclectic tracks like the recently-released “Lights” by Skaiwater and Midwxst. With dark aesthetics that pull from video games and anime, and an emphasis on mashing together explosive elements like bass-boosted 808s and distorted synths, 9lives has already worked with a number of A-list artists including Rico Nasty, JELEEL!, Kanii, Odetari, and even Trippie Redd – producing “Popular” off of his latest LP. On his new single “MULTIMILLIONAIRE”, he’s linked up with Trippie Redd and experimental artist Odetari again for an explosive hustling anthem that further solidifies 9lives as the burgeoning star of his niche yet rapidly-growing scene.

Since emerging onto the music scene less than two years ago, 9lives has already built an impressive career for himself as the leading face of the chronically-online sigilkore scene. After getting his start in production by making beats on GarageBand and FL Studios in highschool, 9lives began to get tired of the “trap type beats” that he was making – this is when he discovered the sigilkore community, and began to hone in on pushing the boundaries of the eclectic sound. 9lives garnered viral attention across TikTok and social media, dropping his breakthrough single "XTAYALIVE" (100M+ Streams) last year. He’s subsequently released a collab EP with experimental producer Odetari, and become a frequent collaborator with Trippie Redd – with the duo expanding on their chemistry with the new single “MULTIMILLIONAIRE”. 9lives recently signed to PULSE Records, a new label founded by PULSE Music Group, whose publishing roster includes the likes of Brent Faiyaz, Ty Dolla $ign, and Freddie Gibbs – a testament to his rapidly-growing influence and standalone presence. With his eyes set on becoming a fixture in the mainstream realm of experimental production and artistry, 9lives and his new single continue his hot streak as he puts the sigilkore genre on his back, introducing it to the world.

[jontheblogcentric]

2023 FIFA WWC: Group Stage With One Game To Go

This Women’s World Cup has been good, but crazy. The main crazy thing is the big time-zone separation between Australian/New Zealand times and the North American times. One good thing is I’m able to see at least five games of Canada or the US playing, or expected to play, during North American prime-time hours. Most of the time, the games will be held while I’m sleeping. In addition, all of the…

[mousemannation]

look at him.. so mouse-ular.. so rodential.. so traffic cone core

[flowerdante64]

some scott pilgrim sketches

originals:

[britomart]

damn i'm glad i didn't end up getting tickets 😭

[sixthemusicalextras]

@/sixthemusicalau on Instagram, 20 February 2023

[accountingoutsourcingsworld]

Achieving Financial Clarity: The Significance of Accounting Finalization Services

[beyondthespheres]

[ofmdrecaps]

07/11/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Erroll Shand; Nathan Foad; Vico Ortiz; Madeleine Sami; Ra Vincent; Dominic Burgess; Darby Family Foster Kittens; Rose City Comic Con; Adopt Our Crew's You Bear Fine Things Well; PA In Person Events; Fan Spotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika.

== Rhys Darby ==

The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge is live on Peacock! Rhys had several articles mentioning it-- as well as some great reviews you can check out below!

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika is out in Piazza del Popolo -- in Italy! He was directing the Indoor Garden Party there, featuring Russell Crowe, The Gentleman Barbers, and Lorraine O'Reilly!

Source: giorgiociccanti Instagram

Some behind the scenes of the show!

Source: RussellCrowe's Twitter

Annnnnnnd.....Another fun interview with Taika and Jemaine talking about their old friendship and Time Bandits!

Source: Cairn's Post

Special Note: Apparently Rachel is also in Time Bandits! I didn't know that either, I love how many of the AoNZ crew are!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

And finally, below, a behind the scenes shot of Taika and Jemaine from Time Bandits!

Source: Fotc_fans Twitter

== Erroll Shand ==

A rare appearance of Erroll! This was from Day 1 of the script read through for Season 2 of 'The Twelve'!

Source: StevieCruzMartin's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Some shots of Nathan from Jan - Jun this year!

Source: laurenecarse's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Season Finale of Date My Abuelita First Podcast is up! You can listen to all the episodes of Season 2 here!

Source: DateMyAbuelitaFirst Instagram

== Madeleine Sami ==

A few days old but this was a fun clip of Mads and the Deadloch Crew from the Season 2 announcement!

Source: PrimeVideo AuNZ

== Ra Vincent ==

A rare sighting of our dear Ra Vincent, showing some love for his previous and current projects<3 "Just when you thought you’d reached your favourite all time project another new favourite comes along. #timebandits #artdepartment #ourflagmeansdeath"

Source: Ra Vincent's Instagram Stories

== Dominic Burgess ==

Our good friend Dominic, Jeffrey Fettering, is up at a crazy hour! Hope you get some rest Dominic!

Source: Dominic Burgess' Twitter

== Darby Family Foster Kittens ==

More kittens! Rosie is keeping us appraised of these adorable foster babies!

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's Instagram Stories

== Rose City Comic Con ==

News from Rose City Comic Con! Rhys and Matthew will be joining Kristian and Vico! Will you be in Portland OR in September? For guest and ticket information check out:

rosecitycomiccon.com/guest

rosecitycomiccon.com/badges

Source: RoseCityComicCon's Instagram

== You Bear Fine Things Well ==

07/11 was the day all! The Hungry Games have gone live on Peacock! Our fantastic crewmates over at @adoptourcrew have been keeping up the hype with daily themes! "Day 3: Which fictional bear do you think would join the crew of the Revenge?" I'm a day behind on this but Rachel, aka bbviago on twitter was kind enough to submit Fozzie From Muppets Treasure Island! (someone I would have also submitted!)

Source: bbviago's Twitter

"Day 4: Vote for the Hungry Games Bear you think will win!"

The Bear Madness was busy all day over at @adoptourcrew headquarters and on twitter! It was close there for a while but Quad Mom won the day!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== In Person / Online Fan Events ==

= Philadelphia PA: Calypso's Birthday =

Are you near Philadelphia, PA? Consider stopping by Tattooed Mom for games, crafts, and fun Saturday July 20th! 6-10 PM!

Source: FerventRabbit's Twitter

= PA: Spoken Word Porn-A-Thon Fundraiser =

CW: NSFW! Do you like NSFW fanfiction? Do you like helping out Queer Fundraisers? Well look no further! Some of our crewmates over at Harold & Maude's in Millvale PA will be writing smutty fanfiction (some OFMD, some not!) which will be read at an in-person/virtual event in return for donations to benefit the Queer Resource Center of Millvale! The event will take place at 7 PM on July 18th! Don't have the funds right now? You can also enter to win a pair of tickets for you and a friend by tagging a friend on Queer Witches instagram! Each tag is one entry into the raffle! The winner will be pulled on 7/13! Visit the QueerWitches website to purchase tickets!

Source: QueerWitches/Harold's Haunt/ @ringasunn on Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

And we're back with more cast cards from @melvisik! The first, Michael Heidemann is one of the English Seamen!

Second up we have another "Emmy submission, for Outstanding Music Supervision in a Series for Impossible Birds - AdoptOurCrew", Maggie Phillips!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies, I have had a cold and have been swamped with work so I'm severely behind again with everything going on. I apologise for no personal love notes. I figured I'd share some more love from others, but know I'm thinking of you and hoping you're going into the weekend well crew. First is from the fabulously kind people over at @ positivelypresent

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dani DiPirro (@positivelypresent)

Source: positivelypresent's Instagram

Next is very wonderful affirmation from TheLatestKate -- when you're having a bad day, these are some good words to remember:

Source: TheLatestKate's Tumblr

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Today's gif is courtesy of the lovely @snake-snack-stede <3 One of the best scenes from Fun and Games.

[louisisalarrie]

super random q but do you think louis is ever coming back to asia? 😭 lol honestly his team fucked up big time and a lot of the fans are (rightfully) pissed off nfndidks but i think it also had a lot to do with the countries they chose?

i remember the initial announcement was him going to countries he didnt visit during Itwt, which is nice and all i guess but i'm not sure they thought that through... clearly there weren't enough fans in those countries fo then after cancelling those he announce ONE SINGULAR show in jakarta... which, logically, makes sense since it's one of his top cities on spotify. and yet the turnout was terrible skndjdsk

i'm sure a lot of it had to do with fans still holding a grudge (honestly same) and being scared of cancellation again, but i was thinking maybe he should've chosen a different city? manila for instance had to have their Itwt show upsized from a 2k capacity venue to a 12k one if i'm not mistaken?

Hey lovely anon, and welcome to the show! (Late night VIP access for you - I’m only awake because god some of these bands take fucking forever to load out, so apologies if this is a bit scrambled!)

Yeaaaahhhh it’s definitely part of his team’s fault, but could also likely be the promoter’s. I think it was Live Nation for this one. At LN AUNZ they really try everything they can to not cancel shows, and just downsize (usually discreetly only to ticket holders, but sometimes posted on socials), and it comes down to ticket sales, but also supplier issues is a major one too.

I’m honestly not too across Asia’s music scene at the moment, it’s just not a territory I’m deep in, but maybe there were other major acts touring at the same time and therefore caused supplier issues too? Usually ticket sales are the main factor but you’ve got everything from trucking, backline, crew, sound, lights, accomodation, staging, tour manager fees, staffing, flights, venue rental, catering, LED etc. vs the guaranteed fee, so there’s a lot more to consider.

Promoters, like any business, obviously wanna lose as little money as possible, and so they do look at all avenues before having to propose a cancellation to the team because it makes them look bad. They obviously want Louis to choose them next time because they make money, so they don’t just cop out if they have low ticket sales, they try to make it work but sometimes it just… doesn’t.

I’m not sure what kind of deal it was - happy to go into different types of deals sometime with y’all if you’re interested - but depending on budgets and the type of deal, it could’ve just been a lot of artist costs and it would’ve costed louis more money to go there than the payoff would’ve been.

I understand it’s frustrating, 100%, AUNZ, particularly NZ, don’t get half the bands the rest of the world get, because it’s expensive and it’s a gamble. Unless the promoter is willing to put no caps in the tour offer and just gamble with fees because they’re sure of ticket sales and budgets, well, they won’t. And it is a gamble for louis to go to countries he’s not been to before while he’s still establishing a bigger turnout there.

He’s the kind of guy that wants to tour all over the world and see everyone no matter the size of the venue, and it’s ridiculous because with his net worth he can afford to lose some money lol, but his manager and team just… don’t get paid that way. They don’t do their job so they don’t get commission. Idk what kind of contract they have with him, but I doubt he’s gonna give them a free handout if he can’t even make enough money to cover half that shit mentioned above through ticket sales. It’s just not how a business runs. It’s not how management works.

I really hope yourself and the folks up there don’t hold a grudge against him, because it’s so often out of the artist’s control (again, sounds stupid but it is the way this works), and I’ve seen artists offer to pay for a show with like 6% ticket sales because they just wanna make that 6% happy. But it’s not feasible and their management think it’s a waste of time if it’s not successful. I disagree, but, that’s the way the cookie crumbles with the big dogs. And I’m sure he’d love to tour more cities and be with fans everywhere.

With how much of a gamble it is going to cities he’s not been to before, I imagine even with demographic studies, the promoter’s offer would’ve stated for louis to pay for most of the expenses I stated above, so the promoter doesn’t lose money because it’s a risk. The more risky the tour sales are, the more is deemed an artist cost. It’s just… business.

Anyway, ticket sales for all artists are really struggling these days because of this damn economy and “cost of living”. Fans aren’t often buying tickets til the last minute, like you said, for fear of cancellation. Particularly after covid, it’s really hit the music industry hard. Refunds are great, fine, sure, but if you’re spending a chunk of your pay to see an artist and it doesn’t happen, you lose a bit of faith in buying tickets for them/other artists the next time they come to your city.

In Australia, we have a website called Tixel, founded in Melbourne a few years ago. Changed the absolute game. Now folks aren’t buying off Ticketmaster marketplace or official ticketing outlet resales, and are using Tixel instead.

Tixel is a platform where you can sell your ticket to another person with very little fees taken. You can’t list your ticket for over 10% of the price you bought it for, you have to upload/scan your ticket into the system and it verifies its legitimacy, and then you can put it on sale for whatever price you like (with upwards of 10% of og price, or lower if you need to just get rid of it). It’s fantastic, stops scammers because they can’t upsell the ticket by 200% like on ViaGoGo, and all tickets are proved to be legitimate. I’ve waited last minute to a show, to see if I’m free/if it’s going ahead if it’s super far in advance to buy tickets on Tixel, because I know if I buy tickets the day of/a few days before, that there’s like a 1% chance they’ll cancel. Shit happens, sure, but by that time, you’ll know it’s going ahead.

Because of the concerns of buying tickets when they’re released, promoters and management teams can’t guarantee there will be a turnout and whether they will be able to gain a profit/at the very least break even, because it’s just too risky and of course suppliers want money well in advance. But if a band does a show, and it sells out last minute, great, cool, but you can’t bank on that. It’s changed the ticketing game and really fucked with artists, their teams, and promoters, because you can’t rely on the numbers early on.

There have been a few major festivals here that have cancelled, due to “unforeseen circumstances” usually (which is mostly a way to hide the fact it’s ticket sales), and it’s like… a week after tickets go on sale. This happened to a festival I bought tickets to the day of release, and a lot of folks I know were waiting for their next payday or until tickets were on resale closer to the time. It’s such a shame, and hurts a lot of people in the industry financially. It’s not just the big dogs who have a fuck ton of money, it’s the crewing on the ground, the caterers, the venues, suppliers etc. who get hurt the most. It’s devastating down here, at the moment.

You can bank on certain artists selling tickets everywhere, but unfortunately it wasn’t strong enough for Louis.

He couldn’t skip out on Asia all together, no way. He needed to do at least 1 show to cross that territory and fulfil the global deal that he may have with LN (not 100% on if it’s a global deal or co-pro but yeah, either way), because it would’ve looked shit if he didn’t and probably negotiated his touring deal and cost him more money to cancel. Idk, there’s so many moving parts to touring that it’s hard to give you a solid answer, anon, but I’m sure he’ll be back. They’ll focus on Asia to really crack it, I think. We’ll see how competent/how much his team cares, and what promoters are willing to offer to get him back. Deals change throughout the initial offer up until very close to the tour, so, yeah. Hopefully there’s more money from the promoter backing him next time.

It’s shitty, but the money they saved goes towards the next leg of the tour to cover higher artist costs. This can include nicer accomm, better flights, better catering, better LED/Lights/Sound for confirmed shows, depending on the deal. So it’s stretching yourself a bit thinner for more shows that will cost you money, or putting some more money into those shows to make it better. It’s a weird balancing act. And yeah. It’s a multitude of things, not just his popularity.

Anyway, hope this helps a bit! Let me know if any q’s xx <3

[delopsia]

Instagram gems that took my entire soul to find

Sources

Prime Video AUNZ Oliverabercrombie Amazon Studios (1) Amazon Studios (2)

[ierotits]

teaching french tamariki the word mufti and pretending like its universal english vocab instead of just aunz bullshit

[madstars-festival]

[JURY INTERVIEW] The Key to Successful in the Rapidly Evolving PR World

Miriam Wells, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy PR, served as a final jury for Outdoor Stars, PR Stars, Brand Experience & Activation Stars, Media Stars, Place Brand Stars, and Commerce Stars at MAD STARS 2024, held last August.

Miriam Wells brought a broad perspective and strategic insight to the MAD STARS 2024 jury room. The chief creative officer of Ogilvy PR has diverse experience spanning PR, marketing, corporate affairs, digital and social strategy, content, employee experience, culture and change management, planning, and brand narrative. She is also known for her natural ability to bring out the best in teams and projects across all business areas, a results-oriented, collaborative creative leader, who is enthusiastic about big ideas that build brands and get people talking. Her experience also covers a vast range of clients - Cochlear, Atlassian, WPP AUNZ, BHP, Mars Wrigley, Transport for NSW, HealthDirect, Department of Human Services, American Express, University of Newcastle, Equality Australia and Ikea.

She shared with MAD STARS what she said was a remarkable experience judging this year, highlighting the calibre of the MAD STARS Awards and its judging process.  

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Q. PR has evolved in the last five years. How has this changed your approach at Ogilvy PR? 

A. PR can best be described as restless.  It is in a state of constant evolution – the nature of the work mimics the always on news[feed] cycle that we’re all plugged into as consumers. And while that has seen a multitude of changes take place, three things in particular stand out: 

Purpose is still paramount, but it’s also tempered by humor as a critical emotional shortcut for audiences given the world and the media need a dose of good news in their feeds where possible.  So while it has been great to see brands increasingly take a stand on important issues over the past few years, it’s also delightful to see some fun back in the mix with brands in on the joke.

Earned creativity is increasingly at the center of integrated work and is an exciting place for brands to play. The strength of ideas that earn their place in consumers’ lives, with the scale and craft of an integrated team behind them is a sweet spot for good work.

Playing to the Minor stream (our approach to finding niche but highly engaged audiences) has become increasingly important given the splintering of the landscape into algorithm niches and devoted cultural fandoms. Highly specific target audiences can give you a better runway into creative tension, and striking a resonant chord with a small but highly engaged target group has rippled into the zeitgeist.

The ability to work within and address these changes can only come through deep understanding and insight into culture.  As a result, Ogilvy PR is constantly tracking cultural shifts, ensuring our entire team is tapped into what’s next and how to apply it to our clients’ business issues. 

We are also lucky enough to work in an environment where creativity and strategic thinking is a vital part of the PR mix and where innovation is applied as a matter of course. 

Q. How important is local knowledge to a successful PR campaign? 

A. The strongest campaigns tap into and earn a place in culture – so local cultural insight and nuance are absolutely critical. That’s why judging international awards is always so fascinating.  It provides valuable insight into the cultural dynamics of different markets, and how brands navigate them with creativity.

Q. The final jury filters great ideas from good. What, for you, determines that a campaign makes that leap to win a significant award run an international competition? 

A. The triple threat of laser insight, stellar creative idea and exceptional execution. I think that also given the international dimension of a competition like MAD STARS it’s work that nails one of the two ends of the cultural relevance spectrum – some work that is so universal that it transcends language barriers and geographies to resonate with juries. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s work that is highly local and culturally relevant to the market it’s for (supported by precise context setting in the award submission) that can really make it stand out and cut through with audiences. Effectiveness is another key dimension, great work never shouts into the void. It affects change whether at a consumer, product, brand, business, policy or cultural level.

Q. What stood out for you during judging?

A. This wasn’t technically during judging, but I think it also highlights one of the themes that emerged during judging. Fernanda Machado’s MAD STARS keynote was truly thought-provoking – I loved the insight he gave into his work with NotCo and how their AI chef 'Giuseppe' is enabling rapid product formulation prototyping for plant-based food. He also talked about a billboard stunt the company used to launch its protein drink, calling out the market leader Danone with a light projection opposite Danone HQ in Brazil. This was a move that saw the brand fined by the local advertising standards body. The NotCo team knew this going in and built the cost of the fine into their marketing plan.

I love these two NotCo stories because they really highlight both the opportunity and limitations of generative AI technology - speed of experimentation and prototyping can be a huge creative asset on the one hand, but on the other, it’s unlikely AI would suggest something against the rules and out of the box and build the fine into the cost of doing business.

And this is something that threaded through some of the judging discussions at the festival – AI, like other technologies at our disposal, is a useful tool, but it’s rarely the idea. It needs human imagination to realize its potential, and you could argue that AI could also be a tool that helps push human potential further.

Q. There is a lot of talk about bias in judging. What do you think are the most important “ingredients” to ensure fair judging?

A. A diverse and inclusive jury, not only in terms of cultures but also across other intersectional dimensions including gender, neurotype, and professional experience and disciplines. One of the wonderful things about MAD STARS was meeting creatives from all over the world: Korea, Thailand, the UK, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa, UAE and more. And, of course, each person brings their own experience biases, and subjectivity to the table, but that broad mix of those points of view together can strengthen the discussion.

I saw some recent industry commentary around gender diversity in the Australian market, and one of the comments that stood out to me was about the power we have as professionals being invited to judge, speak, and share stages, column inches, and airspace – that we can ask who else is being consulted and invited into those spaces and opportunities.

We can decline if the cohort is lacking in representation. The more differing points of view and lived experiences in a jury room, the more space there is for productive dissent, and this is often key to making work and of course, judging decisions better.

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An interview about how the power of creativity can transcend cultural, technological, and conceptual boundaries!

For Miriam, last year's Busan International Marketing & Advertising Festival proved just how much a mix of perspectives can raise the bar in the creative industry.

MAD STARS 2025 will be held in August with the theme of 'AI-vertising, AI Advertising Marketing Era', and will showcase ideas with 'Laser insight', 'Stellar creative idea', and 'Exceptional execution'.

Stay tuned for more information!🙏🏻

[sixthemusicalextras]

@/tatistagram (upper left and bottom pic) and @/54321more_minutes on (upper right pic) on Instagram, 19 February 2023

Some of the first pics I could find from tonight. This cast will be sorely missed!

[miztiw]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: AUNZ FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Jersey. New. Size: S/8.