Manawatu producer and songwriter Te Whiti Warbrick, aka SickDrumz, has been added to the APRA AMCOS 1,000,000,000 List for his work on Rihanna’s single Needed Me, featured on her 2019 international hit album album ‘Anti’.

Though he works primarily from his home studio in Sanson in the Manawatu, Warbrick’s work can be heard on songs by Lil Wayne, Future, Ty Dolla Sign and Post Malone.

“It’s hard to believe that I made this song on an old laptop with some broken headphones in a tiny bedroom on the back of a farm with a view of cows. From Sanson to the world, Needed Me was born, and it’s such an honour to be a part of an anthem sung by one of the biggest artists of our time, Rihanna,” he told APRA AMCOS on receiving his award.

His Needed Me collaborators from Australia, Khaled Rohaim, Lewis Audino and Nick Hughes also received the recognition. The 1,000,000,000 List is given to APRA AMCOS members in recognition of more than one billion streams for a song, and Warbrick joins fellow Kiwis Jon Hume, P-Money, and Joel Little on that list. 

The songwriting achievement takes into account streaming numbers from all major services including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, YouTube Music, Vevo, Amazon, and more. It’s the first award of its kind to recognise a songwriter’s achievement.