Greg Johnson joined Mike Puru for New Zealand Music Month to chat about how he has navigated his way through the New Zealand music industry.
One of New Zealand’s greatest, Greg has provided the songs in our lifetime for a number of years.
He won the 1997 APRA Silver Scroll for ‘Liberty’ and was awarded New Zealand’s Top Male Vocalist at the New Zealand Music Awards in 1995.
Greg was first signed in 1987 to Pagan Records, an indie label established by Trevor Reekie in 1985.
“I have to hand it to Trevor Reekie [...] he spotted a lot of talent in my era,” Greg said.
Greg later moved on to signing with British record label EMI in 1995.
As a musician in New Zealand, Greg says these record deals make a difference.
“I was [grateful] for the simple reason that Pagan, whilst the wonderful indie, had no financial capabilities in order to carry on to the next step.”
“And EMI were fantastic,” Greg added, “they were a big company back in the day.”
Although many say the music scene is tough in New Zealand, Greg argues it’s tough everywhere.
“The people we mostly hear about are the top 0.0001% of working musicians,” said Greg.
“I think it’s very easy to say ‘oh it’s terrible’ and ‘oh it’s so tough’, but also I’ve always thought I’m very grateful that I’ve managed to make it.”
“Every job has its drawbacks and positives, but [it’s] overwhelmingly positive to be able to do music forever,” he continued.
“To me, [it’s] a real blessing”
After living in Los Angeles for the past 22 years, Greg now also dabbles in writing music for TV shows and movies.
“You have to have many strings to your bow to survive in the music industry, I think as a writer and an artist.”
Listen to the full chat below.
