Bic Runga, Fazerdaze, Troy Kingi, and more Kiwi artists are joining forces with Aotearoa New Zealand music startup Lume.
Found in October of last year, Lume is an album-centric music app backed by investors including Lorde, Substack’s Hamish McKenzie, Letterboxd’s Karl von Randow, Previously Unavailable’s James Hurman, and former Sky boss John Fellet.
According to a press release, Lume “can be thought of as both a digital collection and a digital store.”
The nascent platform brings “boxed set-style content — demos, live tracks, extra artwork, and behind-the-scenes footage — to app stores.”
The Lume app will go live on both Google’s Android and Apple iOS on July 17th.
It works on a “buy once, own forever” model, rather than a subscription, and 80% of net revenue “is reserved for artists and their partners.”
Co-founder Sacha Judd, described as “a fandom expert,” believes Lume’s content “represents a holy grail for fans.”
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“They’re artefacts which add context to albums, and don’t belong on the social web. Here they’re beautifully housed and presented, and reserved for only those who really believe in and truly support an artist,” Judd says.
Lume has already confirmed a partnership with RMNZ, “ensuring chart eligibility on day one”; “critical music publishing arrangements” with APRA AMCOS; and deals with renowned independent labels such as Flying Nun, Lil’ Chief Records, and Melted Ice Cream.
In addition to vaulting to an immediate global release, Lume has today revealed its first full slate of artists and releases.
Local artists championed by Rolling Stone AU/NZ, including Erny Belle, Fables, Mainard Larkin, Womb, and our Future of Music 2026 members Dick Move, Earth Tongue, Vera Ellen, and Geneva AM feature in the first slate.
Classic reissued releases from the likes of Fur Patrol, Die! Die! Die!, The Phoenix Foundation, and Tiki Taane have also been secured by Lume.
Check out the full first slate below.
The press release states that the Lume team is “now deep into assembling” the first of its “novel approach to albums,” which Lume’s team explains is “essentially a sequel to vinyl or CDs,” but “with far greater possibilities due to the devices on which they’re housed.”
“We’ve received truly incredible archival material,” says co-founder and head of artist relations Justin Warren. “Everything from historically important unreleased live sets, to the voice notes where iconic New Zealand songs first began, to diary pages or exciting cover versions.”
Find out more about Lume here.
Lume’s First Slate
New/recent releases
Erny Belle – Not Your Cupid
Dick Move – Dream, Believe, Achieve
Earth Tongue – Dungeon Vision
Vera Ellen – Heaven Knows What Time
Fables – Change Is a Slow Moving Beast
Fazerdaze – Soft Power
Reb Fountain – How Love Bends
Geneva AM – Pikipiki
Troy Kingi – Troy Kingi Presents: Night Lords
Lontalius – Heavy
Mainard Larkin – Rattlesnake Boy
Isla Noon – Out of Body Redux
Ringlets – The Lord Is My German Shepherd
Bic Runga – Red Sunset
School Fair – Unexpected Violence
Swallow The Rat – The Search For Kusel (Live Recordings 2018-2025) *
Tali – Future Dwellers
Theia – Girl, in a Savage World
Voom – Untitled Demos release *
Womb – One Is Always Heading Somewhere
Reissues
Die! Die! Die! – self-titled
Fur Patrol – Pet
The Phoenix Foundation – Give Up Your Dreams
Tiki Taane – Past, Present, Future #
Reduction Agents – The Dance Reduction Agents
*Lume exclusive
#Album no longer available on Spotify
