Native Tongue is an independent music publisher, with offices in Australia and New Zealand.
Besides acquiring rights to local writers, we also administer the works of overseas writers and catalogues for Australia and New Zealand.
Established in 2003, Native Tongue has built a respected catalogue of local writers. We set out to provide writers with a publishing company dedicated to assisting with the development of their skills as songwriters and composers throughout their careers.

Although we are a small company, we see this is one of our major advantages. It enables us to be far more proactive than our competitors and react quickly to the needs of our clients, whether they be film and television companies, commercial advertisers or the bands of which our writers are members.

We see our role as getting out there and getting things done, working with the band, the management, the record label and the distributor to make things happen.
Our job is to work with you to help you achieve your goals, as a songwriter and in many cases; an artist. We have a broad network of contacts we can utilise in all areas of the business – record companies, distributors, booking agents, promoters, publicists, radio, etc.

We will work with you, your management and record distributor to maximise sales of your record. You probably have most bases covered but there will always be something we can do to help squeeze those extra sales. It may be that we help a band get on a festival bill, provide advice on obtaining touring grants or come up with that song opportunity in a film that breaks through at the box office – who knows – it's an ephemeral business and its not always easy pinning down where things will come from.

If you are looking to place songs with other artists we have a worldwide network of contacts who work songs on that basis. If you want to co-write we will work with you to develop connections with writers you want to work with. If you want to compose film or television scores we are ideally placed to help you realise these ambitions.
We get out there and do the hard yards wherever it is required.
We have over the years developed publishing relationships internationally and through our music supervision business have come to know those companies who work particularly hard gaining sync licenses and pursuing the ancillary income that is available around the world. We have also established a network of international sub-publishers to administer our works around the world. In each case our sub-publishers are established independents with a long term track record of working within their own territory.

Native Tongue also enjoys strong relationships with all the major US, UK, Canadian and European music supervisors and can submit clients works for use in a wide range of projects around the world.

We are also the only publisher with offices and staff on the ground in Australia and New Zealand enabling us to fully represent your copyrights in the key markets in our home territory.
Native Tongue is closely associated with Mana Music, which is the major music supervisor for feature films, television series, and documentaries in Australia and New Zealand. As a result Native Tongue is in a strong position to place its writer's songs in the wide range of projects.

A similar situation applies in respect to television commercials where once again Mana Music is the major provider of licensing services to the advertising agencies.

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AUSTRALIA

Ph +61 3 9445 0500

PO Box 1570
Collingwood, VIC 3066
Australia

Chris Gough - Managing Director
chris@nativetongue.com.au

Jaime Gough - International Manager
jaime@nativetongue.com.au

Matt Tanner - A&R / Creative Manager
matt@nativetongue.com.au

David Nash - Copyright & Royalties Manager
david@nativetongue.com.au

Kate Mills - Licensing & Admin Assistant
kate@nativetongue.com.au

NEW ZEALAND

Ph +64 9 378 9667

PO Box 8926
Symonds Street, Auckland 1150
New Zealand

Jan Hellriegel - General Manager
jan@nativetongue.co.nz

Contact Form

Native Tongue does not give feedback on unsolicited demos or unsolicited material.



The Brunettes BIOGRAPHY

New Zealand has always boasted a per capita rock band ingenuity few countries can rival. Instead of the usual departure points (Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys), paragons of the NZ scene lifted off from the next generation. The Velvets, Modern Lovers and Television inspired these musicians. All living together in one small corner of the world, over the past 30 years they've gone on to create some of the greatest music to be heard. Enter: The Brunettes. The Brunettes are a revelation simply by doing everything right. A sincere love of rock's history of emotional directness tremors through every measure, and their male-female vocals, chugging guitars, playful keyboards, and glorious harmonies manage to combine numerous elements into simple, straightforward, actual songs. The charismatic fun of a tune pulls you in, while below the bubbly surface song innovations reveal themselves more with every listen. Having met when their bands played together, Jonathan Bree & Heather Mansfield joined up-for a short time romantically. It was kismet, and they set about playing out & making records. Their first show outside of NZ, a trip to London in support of 2004's Mars Loves Venus, saw them opening for The Postal Service, and caught the attention of Sub Pop poobah, Jonathan Poneman. The Shins signed on as fans, and both bands toured NZ and the US. What did everyone see that won them over? With a shifting roster of touring musicians, The Brunettes' performances are nothing short of creative explosions. Instead of emulating studio versions, the band tackles songs anew, adding instruments, with band members feverishly dropping one to pick up another to play. What they do live is all intuitive and Mansfield beams, "We'll go through a lot of effort to make it sonically and visually interesting,".

 

After a few years of touring, we get Structure and Cosmetics, recorded piecemeal in Portland (where The Shins kindly lent them guitars and amplifiers), New York, and their hometown Auckland. The Brunettes are the 87,746th band to prove that rock music is great. That doesn't make them any less exciting. All you need to do is listen.

DISCOGRAPHY & CREDITS

  • Paper Dolls (2009, Good Red)
    Paper Dolls (2009, Good Red)

    "There's always an air of innocence and a dash of danger with The Brunettes, and the play off between Heather and Jonathan remains a powerful, playful force on Paper Dolls."


    The Brunnette's "Paper Dolls" is out now via Good Red/Shock.  

    Buy Physical CD Buy on iTunes
  • Structure and Cosmetics (2007, Lil' Chief Records)
    Structure and Cosmetics (2007, Lil' Chief Records)
    "The Brunettes' Sub Pop debut, Structure & Cosmetics, downplays the sugary sweetness of its predecessors. It's also one of the year's more accomplished, sonically detailed works of baroque pop" Pitchfork
    Buy Physical CD Buy on iTunes
  • When Ice Met Cream (2007, Lil' Chief Records)
    When Ice Met Cream (2007, Lil' Chief Records)
    Buy Physical CD Buy on iTunes
  • Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002, Lil' Chief Records)
    Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002, Lil' Chief Records)
    "A truly fun soundtrack to many a summer getaway, Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks has come out of nowhere as a delightful album that should rightfully establish the Brunettes as one of New Zealand's most promising pop outfits." Stylus Magazine
    Buy Physical CD
  • The Boyracer EP (2003, Lil' Chief Records)
    The Boyracer EP (2003, Lil' Chief Records)
    "The Brunettes are here to save indie-pop I tells ya!!! Stunningly idiosyncratic live, they build upon a percussive, rhythmic pulse, reminiscent of the Slits, with Heather's bright-eyed-bushy-tailed vocals often sounding akin to an antipodean Life Without Buildings." Vice Magazine
    Buy Physical CD Buy on iTunes
  • Mars Loves Venus (1998, Lil' Chief Records)
    Mars Loves Venus (1998, Lil' Chief Records)
    "The Brunettes aren't afraid of a good popfest. For their second full-length... offering Leader-of-the-Pack-isms about cupid, record stores and beached whales, replete with New Wave synth licks and indie flare." Harp Magazine (US)
    Buy Physical CD