Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.
The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s. The intention was to record the original local music of Christchurch, but soon the label rose to national prominence by championing the emerging music of Dunedin.
The Pin Group' "Ambivalence" 7" was the first release from Flying Nun, although it is widely assumed that "Tally Ho" by The Clean was the first release, as it unexpectedly reached number nineteen in the New Zealand charts, bringing the label unexpected profile and income. This was followed by the seminal Dunedin Double EP, a release which cemented the place of the southern city in the forefront of New Zealand independent music.
The label has been home to various styles of music including the much-debated Dunedin Sound, "high-end pop with a twist", lo-fi experimentation, strongly The Velvet Underground influenced pop, minimalism, industrial, and rock-electronic crossover.
In 1990 Festival Records bought a fifty percent stake in Flying Nun, and then in 2000 merged with Mushroom Records bringing Flying Nun into the Festival Mushroom Records family of companies. Flying Nun was bought 100% as part of the purchase of FMR (Festival Mushroom Records) by Warner Music Group in 2006. .
