2017 New Zealand Music Awards

Early awards

• The first was awarded in January, with the Tui for Best Folk Album presented at the Auckland Folk Festival in Kumeu to Kumeu local Guy Wishart for his album West By North.
• In March, the Best Children's Music Album was presented to Anika Moa for her album Songs for Bubbas 2. For 2017, the presentation was moved to March, as part of Children's Day celebrations.
• The Best Country Music Album Tui was presented in June at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in Gore to Jody Direen for her album Shake Up.
• The Tui for Best Pacific Music Album was presented in June at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards to Aaradhna for her album Brown Girl.
• Also in June, the Tui for Best Jazz Album was presented at the Wellington Jazz Festival to Jonathan Crayford for his recording East West Moon. The award is now part of the Wellington Jazz Festival.

Nominees and winners

• The Best Male Solo Artist and Best Female Solo Artist were amalgamated into Best Solo Artist.
• Following the 2016 controversy, the Best Urban/Hip Hop Album was split into two awards: Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Soul/RnB Artist.
• The Critic's Choice Award was not be presented in 2017, with a plan to reevaluate the award.
• The genre awards are no longer tied to a specific album, in order to reflect the move away from albums in the current recorded music climate. The awards now focus on the artist, with the eligibility changed to "an album OR a minimum of five single tracks".