The annual event, to be held at the Dunedin Town Hall on September 28, typically attracts more than 500 musicians, industry and media figures from New Zealand and around the world in a celebration of Kiwi songwriting.
''It's a chance to celebrate our national creativity in a city that should be very proud of its creative environment,'' Apra head of New Zealand operations Anthony Healey said yesterday.
''Dunedin has a great musical heritage, as well as a fantastic background in literature and fashion and the arts.
''There are more songwriters in Dunedin per capita than any other city in the country, so it's time we shared this celebration with them.''
Broadcaster John Campbell would be master of ceremonies.
Dunedin Venues chief executive Terry Davies was ''thrilled'' by the news.
''The Dunedin Town Hall has a terrific association with New Zealand music and, of course, the Dunedin Sound that the city is so famous for.''
The Apra Silver Scroll is regarded as the most important songwriting award in New Zealand. Past winners include Lorde, Neil Finn, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga, Don McGlashan, Che Fu and Scribe.
The music director this year is Shayne Carter, founder of Dunedin bands Straitjacket Fits and Doublehappys.
''While never being a particular subscriber to the 'music-as-competition' theory, I've always liked the Silver Scrolls as an event,'' Mr Carter, himself an inductee into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame (with Straitjacket Fits in 2008) said.
''Any move to make events like these less Auckland-centric gets my vote.
''I would hope hosting an occasion like this in the lovely surrounds of the town hall would help add to the general vibrancy I've felt around this town since returning a year ago.''
Mr Carter's role will include selecting performers to interpret the songs of the finalists.
''It'll be fun playing musical match-ups and trying to find interesting and, hopefully, not-so-obvious artists to perform the songs and maybe find angles in them that the [original] writers may never have thought of.''
An invitation-only event, the ceremony, including presentations, speeches and live performances, will be streamed live online.
The long-list of 20 finalists for the Apra Silver Scroll Award will be announced in July, followed by the final top five in August, when all other finalists will be named.
The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame inductee will be announced in early September.
