Music
14 Mar 08

Radio directors say they’re behind Irish acts

Music directors at two local radio stations have said they would not include international artists who’ve recorded here as part of their required Irish music output.

Colm O’Sullivan of Cork’s Red FM said that under no circumstances would his station consider acts who’ve recorded their album in Ireland, such as R.E.M. and Kylie Minogue (pictured), as counting towards the quota of 30% Irish music that all independent stations must adhere to.

At the recent IBI conference, the BCI shocked musicians when it revealed it would accept such albums as 'Irish'.

“We would always aim to promote new, home-grown Irish stuff first and foremost,” O'Sullivan told Hotpress.com. “We’re constantly cultivating new bands from the Cork area to get them on our playlist.”

John Cadell, director of music at Dublin’s Phantom 105.2, echoed O’Sullivan’s comments.

“We would never consider Irish-recorded albums as Irish. We don’t need to,” Cadell told Hotpress.com.

He confirmed that Phantom plays 20% Irish artists between the hours of 7am and 7pm, and 30% Irish over its full 24-hour schedule. The station also commits to playing 6% Irish unsigned bands between 7am and 7pm.

“If the music is good enough to hold it’s own, we see no reason why it shouldn’t be played,” said Cadell. “We regularly put new Irish bands on our a-list alongside top international acts like the Foo Fighters.”