Parachute Music is a Christian music organisation from New Zealand, that was formed in 1989 and operates in two main areas: Events and Artist Management. The organisation runs the annual Parachute Festival, which has grown to become a staple of the Kiwi summer and regularly attracts an audience of 25,000+ to the four-day festival. It also exists to train, upskill and partner with local musicians who are Christian, by providing Artist Management services that include: Parachute Records (a record label, which has Parachute Band, Rapture Ruckus, and Juliagrace signed), Parachute Publishing (representing songwriters from Australasia), bookings services (which it does in Australasia for The Ember Days, and management (which it does for Ruby Frost).
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Background
Parachute Music was originally formed as Parachute Productions 21 years ago. Today, Parachute Music is the trading name Parachute Arts Trust, a charitable trust registered in New Zealand since 1990.
The organisation was founded by Mark de Jong, and is overseen by a board. Parachute Music now has 20 staff members working in its Auckland offices, and three interns. Because it is a charitable trust, the Parachute Supporters programme has been set up for people to financially donate to the mission. There are 2,500 Supporters helping Parachute Music achieve what it does today. There are also thousands of volunteers who have come on board over the 21 years Parachute has existed, helping serve at large events such as Parachute Festival. Every Festival is made possible by the hundreds of crew members who donate their time freely.
Other initiatives
In 2009 Parachute Music extended its Events wider with:
- The Parachute Roadshow. This tour stopped in 11 cities around New Zealand from September - October, with Parachute Band, Rapture Ruckus, and Juliagrace performing.
- Noise training events for musicians. Parachute Music ran seven regionalised training events for musicians around the country, running workshops with both Planetshakers Worship Leader Henry Seeley and mainstream industry types.
Parachute Music also partners with a World Vision community in Rwanda, called Tubehoneza. To date, $265,000 has been raised for the Area Development Programme, and over 1,650 children have been sponsored by Parachute Festival attendees.