Record Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) chief executive Campbell Smith said Christchurch had a reputation for producing quality acts. Hayley Westenra is always very big-selling when she puts a record out and Opshop are working off the back of a very big radio song, while Crawl was a very well-crafted record, he said. Christchurch chucks up a lot of musicians but also a lot of successful musicians who sell well. Maybe it is something in the water down there.

The figures — compiled for RIANZ — are based on the data running up to December 9. However, with one week left in the year, Smith said he did not expect to see great changes in the results. Jeff Fulton, music manager for the Christchurch Music Industry Trust, said the results showed the value of encouraging musicians at all levels.