Legendary NZ Label Flying Nun Under New Management

Iconic New Zealand label Flying Nun are set to come under the management of Arch Hill Recordings, with the latter's Ben Howe coming in as the label's General Manager.

Formed in the 80s and known worldwide for their lo-fi punk, garage, jangly and proto-grunge releases from the likes of The Chills, The Bats and The Clean, the label will also move its headquarters from Wellington to Auckland to be beside Arch Hill's office.

Founder Roger Shepherd will carry on as a shareholder and a consultant to the label from Wellington and Matthew Davis will move to Auckland to continue his role as local label manager.

A statement from the label said that, “In the current environment it makes sense for labels and independent music businesses to consolidate and share resources. In order to succeed we must keep the focus on working with great bands, making sure they are properly looked after and taking them to the world. We think this is the future for Flying Nun – from vinyl through to online.”

Shepherd founded the label in 1981 before selling it in 1999. In 2009 he bought the label back from Warner, with investment from Neil Finn and wife Sharon. At the time Howe had believed that he and Shepherd would be partners in any deal to buy back the label, but Shepherd cut him out at the last minute causing a public fall-out between the two. In the years later they reconciled.

Arch Hill Recordings is home to acts such as Transistors, Street Chant and Ghost Wave.