Troy Kingi, Benee, and Tami Neilson are among the artists whose songs are up for the APRA Silver Scroll this year. Photos / Supplied
Troy Kingi, Benee, and Tami Neilson are among the artists whose songs are up for the APRA Silver Scroll this year. Photos / Supplied
The depth of New Zealand's songwriting talent is on display among the 20 finalists of the 2020 APRA Silver Scroll Award, says the head of the music industry body.
"Of course it was a tough job for our judging panel to select these 20 songs from all the entries, and there are plenty of songwriters who missed out who continue to create great and valuable work," said Anthony Healey, APRA's head of NZ operations.
"The standard of songwriting we're seeing in New Zealand in 2020 is incredibly high, and we applaud everyone for their craft."
The 20 finalists for what is New Zealand's biggest songwriting honour were selected from more than 200 entries.
APRA members will vote to determine the top five finalists, and the Silver Scroll will be presented at the Auckland Town Hall on Wednesday, October 14.
Among the artists up for the gong this year are Benee, nominated for her song Glitter, Nadia Reid, nominated for her track Get The Devil Out, and Troy Kingi, nominated for his song Mighty Invader.
Kiwi music legend Bic Runga is also nominated with Cass Mitchell for Let's Just Stay In Bed, written for her new project King Sweeties.
The songwriting award has gone to some of the most iconic Kiwi artists, including Neil Finn, Don McGlashan and Lorde, who has won the award twice.
Last year Aldous Harding took out the award for her song The Barrel, the first single off her third album, Designer.
The 200 songs submitted for the award were narrowed down by a panel of 10 fellow songwriters, including Marlon Williams who won the Silver Scroll in 2018 for his poignant ballad Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore.
Other awards presented on the night of the ceremony are the APRA Maioha Award for exceptional waiata featuring te reo, the SOUNZ Contemporary Award for excellence in contemporary composition, the award for best original music in a feature film, and the award for best original music in a series.
The artists up for the 2020 APRA Silver Scroll award. Photo / Supplied
In order for a song to be eligible, it has to be written, at least in part, by an APRA member who is a New Zealand resident or citizen and the song must have been released between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.
The full list of songwriters nominated for their work is available on the APRA website.
