Parachute Music

Parachute Music is a New Zealand not-for-profit music organisation whose roots go back to Parachute Productions, established in 1989 by Mark de Jong to create opportunities for young Christian musicians entering the New Zealand music industry. The organisation operates under the trading name of Parachute Arts Trust, a New Zealand charitable trust registered since 1990. Although it was established within a Christian music context, its activities have extended into broader artist development, music production, studio provision, songwriting, producer support, and community care for people working across the New Zealand music sector. For much of its public history, Parachute was best known for the Parachute Festival. Held annually from 1992 through 2014, the four-day event developed into the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere and regularly attracted audiences of more than 25,000. The festival provided a platform for local and international Christian performers, while also functioning as a major gathering point for churches, youth communities, artists, and music-industry participants. Its discontinuation in 2014 marked a significant change in organisational direction, moving Parachute away from a large annual event model and toward year-round facilities and artist support. Parachute Music now centres its work on a studio and creative community in Kingsland, Auckland. The organisation operates a hub of 12 music studios and songwriting spaces, including a principal recording facility known as Studio A and 11 smaller producer studios. Studio A is designed for larger recording and live-session projects and includes a control room, live room, recording booth, professional digital and analogue equipment, monitoring systems, instruments, microphones, and production software. The smaller studios provide more compact environments for writing, production, and smaller recording sessions; many are leased long term to local producers and songwriters, while others are available for day hire. The studio facilities reflect Parachute's charitable and community-oriented model. The principal studio was developed following a fundraising effort supported by the artist community in 2012, and the organisation makes facilities available at subsidised rates. This approach is intended to reduce barriers for emerging and established creators while maintaining a shared environment in which artists, producers, and songwriters can work alongside one another. Since 2013, Parachute has also run an artist-development programme for selected New Zealand musicians aged 18 to 25. The programme chooses a small group of artists considered to have significant potential and provides a structured foundation for career development. Its support can be understood as broader than recording alone, encompassing professional preparation, creative development, and exposure to the practical demands of the music industry. Since 2017, Community Care staff have provided dedicated and individualised support to artists, producers, songwriters, and others connected with Parachute and the wider New Zealand music community. Alongside its charitable programmes, Parachute provides commercial music-production coordination for clients. Its work has included music for television projects, media-related assignments, and jingles. Historically, its activities also included artist management, Parachute Records, Parachute Publishing, and artist training. The organisation is overseen by a board. In 2010, founders Mark and Chris de Jong were each awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to music, recognising their contribution to the sector. Parachute's current identity is therefore less that of a conventional record label than a community-focused music organisation combining creative infrastructure, education, artist development, and professional services.

Parachute Music began in New Zealand in 1989 as Parachute Productions. Founded by Mark de Jong, it was created to provide opportunities for young Christian musicians in the country's music industry. The organisation subsequently operated through Parachute Arts Trust, a charitable trust registered in New Zealand from 1990. Its early work developed around music creation, artist support, training, and the promotion of Christian music. In 1992, Parachute launched its annual Parachute Festival. Over the following two decades, the festival became the organisation's most visible public activity and grew into the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere. It ran as a four-day event and regularly attracted audiences of more than 25,000. The festival offered performance opportunities and a meeting place for artists, churches, young people, and music audiences. It also helped establish Parachute as a significant institution within New Zealand's Christian music ecosystem. Parachute's work was not limited to the festival. At various points the organisation provided artist-management services and operated or supported activities associated with Parachute Records, Parachute Publishing, and artist training. These activities gave it a role across several parts of the music value chain, including artist representation, recorded music, publishing, education, and live events. A major infrastructure development took place in 2012, when the organisation's artist community helped raise funds for a principal recording studio. This facility later became Studio A, the central professional recording space within the Parachute Studios complex. The investment supported a shift toward permanent creative infrastructure rather than relying primarily on a single annual festival. In 2013, Parachute introduced an artist-development programme for selected New Zealand musicians aged between 18 and 25. The programme was designed to give a small group of promising artists a practical foundation for developing careers in music. It complemented the organisation's studio access and broader network of producers, songwriters, and music professionals. The Parachute Festival ended in 2014. Its closure was a turning point, after which Parachute concentrated on year-round activity at its Kingsland headquarters in Auckland. The organisation's current hub comprises 12 studios: Studio A, intended for larger recording and live-video projects, and 11 producer studios suited to songwriting and smaller sessions. Many of the producer studios are occupied by local producers and songwriters on a long-term basis, while some are offered for day hire. Subsidised access reflects the trust's community-support purpose. From 2017, Parachute added dedicated Community Care staff to provide bespoke support to artists, producers, and songwriters in its community and in the wider New Zealand music industry. It also continued to coordinate commercial music production, including television music, media projects, and jingles. In this phase, Parachute became less defined as a festival operator or traditional label and more as a creative-services and artist-support organisation. The organisation is overseen by a board. Its founders, Mark and Chris de Jong, received Queen's Service Medals in 2010 for services to music. Parachute Music remains active as a New Zealand charitable music organisation, with its work centred on facilities, development programmes, community care, and music-production services.

• 2017

  Community Care service begins

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Parachute introduces dedicated staff to provide individualised support to artists, producers, and songwriters.

• 2014

  Parachute Festival is discontinued

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  After running annually from 1992, the festival ends and Parachute shifts toward year-round studio and artist-support activity.

• 2013

  Artist Development Programme launches

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Parachute begins a programme for selected New Zealand musicians aged 18 to 25.

• 2012

  Community-funded principal studio is developed

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Funding from the artist community supports construction of Parachute's main professional recording studio.

• 2010

  Founders receive Queen's Service Medals

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Mark and Chris de Jong are each awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to music.

• 1992

  Parachute Festival begins

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation starts its annual four-day Christian music festival.

• 1990

  Parachute Arts Trust is registered

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation's charitable trust structure is registered in New Zealand.

• 1989

  Parachute Productions is formed

  [1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Mark de Jong establishes Parachute Productions to create opportunities for young Christian musicians in New Zealand.

A community-oriented, charitable music organisation that combines professional studio infrastructure with artist development, producer support, and services for the wider New Zealand music industry.

• Music studios · 2012

  Parachute Studios

  Parachute Studios is the organisation's Kingsland creative-facilities hub. It contains 12 spaces, including a principal studio for larger recording and live-video projects and 11 producer studios for songwriting, production, and smaller recording sessions. The facilities are community-supported and offered at subsidised rates, with a mixture of long-term tenancy and day hire.

• Professional recording studio · 2012

  Studio A

  Studio A is Parachute's main recording facility, comprising a control room, live room, and recording booth. It is intended for projects ranging from larger recordings to live video sessions and is equipped with professional digital and analogue production systems, monitoring, instruments, microphones, and software.

• Artist development · 2013

  Artist Development Programme

  This programme selects a small group of New Zealand musicians, generally aged 18 to 25, for structured career-development support. Its purpose is to provide emerging artists with a foundation for navigating the creative and professional requirements of the music industry.

• Artist support · 2017

  Community Care

  Community Care provides dedicated and bespoke support to artists, producers, and songwriters connected with Parachute and the wider New Zealand music industry. It represents the organisation's emphasis on personal wellbeing and practical community support alongside creative development.

• Music festival · 1992

  Parachute Festival

  The Parachute Festival was a four-day annual Christian music event held from 1992 through 2014. It grew into the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere and regularly attracted audiences of more than 25,000 before being discontinued.

• 2014

  Shift from annual festival to year-round creative hubStrategy

  Background

  Parachute had operated its major annual festival since 1992, while also developing studio and artist-support capabilities.

  Action taken

  The organisation discontinued the Parachute Festival and focused its resources and identity on studios, artist development, community care, and music-production services at its Auckland headquarters.

  Aftermath

  Parachute moved toward a continuing community and facilities model rather than a primarily event-led public presence.

  Source

• 2014

  Parachute Festival ends after more than two decades[1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Parachute discontinued its annual festival after operating the event from 1992 to 2014. The festival had become the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere and regularly drew audiences exceeding 25,000.

• 2014

  Parachute expands its year-round studio and support model[1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following the end of the festival, Parachute focused its activities on a Kingsland, Auckland creative hub containing studios and ongoing programmes for artists, producers, and songwriters.

• 2010

  Mark and Chris de Jong receive Queen's Service Medals[1]Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Parachute founders Mark and Chris de Jong were each recognised with a Queen's Service Medal for services to music.

1. 1Parachute Musicen.wikipedia.org