Despite the existence of the big megastores such as HMV, Tower and Virgin and the preponderance of independent specialist record shops, it can often be difficult to find certain releases without paying exorbitant import charges. This unsatisfactory state of affairs is expected to improve dramatically now that Vital Distribution, the UK-based independent distribution outfit who specialise in dance and indie labels have set up a permanent operation in Ireland.
Vital, which is one of the biggest independent distributors in Europe, includes artists such as Basement Jaxx, DJ Shadow, Red House Painters, Public Enemy and the Go Betweens, in their eclectic catalogue. According to American born Jay Ahern, who heads up the Irish operation they are responding to increased demand among customers here for a wider range of music.
"I was here on my own working as a consultant for several UK companies who were interested in expanding into the Irish market," he explains. "One of those companies happened to be Vital and I noticed that they had a lot of very strong indie and dance singles that were coming in as imports. To give just one example, Spiritualized's Ladies And Gentleman was being sold here as an import. I informed Vital about the situation and they hired me as a consultant."
Peter Thompson, the company's London based MD, explains the thinking behind Vital's operation in Ireland.
The whole concept came about for a number of reasons but the most significant was that independent stores were contacting us, asking if they could deal with us direct. This would have been impractical for a number of reasons but we felt that if we could nurture a partner in Ireland there would be a simple way round this. It quickly became apparent that Record Services could provide the service we required whilst allowing us to have the freedom to present our records to the marketplace in the way we wanted. We then met Jay and it became clear that not only could we sell to Irish accounts but with him on board we could also go a long way towards providing the Irish media with a much better flow of information and releases."
Ahern grew up in Florida and moved to London in the late 80's where he was in a band who released a couple of singles with Rough Trade. He then became involved in running a specialist dance label, later working with the band Faithless and with V2 Records. He first came to Ireland in the early 90's returning in 1996 to live here permanently
"I noticed a definite change in attitudes here over those years," he offers. "There were some very creative people in the media and the music industry who were becoming more discerning about the kind of music they wanted. People were demanding certain titles which weren't available here."
Vital's approach to marketing and promotion is much more personalised than other distributors and record companies, according to Ahern.
"We've targeted twenty-five or so tastemakers in the industry people like John Power and Uaneen Fitszimons in 2FM, journalist Jim Carroll and Billy at Abbey Discs. It's an exclusive mailing list and their enthusiasm for the music has brought about this amazing buzz for the kind of thing we do.
"The big money spinners for to date us have definitely been the dance singles," he continues. "The Vital Catalogue seems to appeal to that end of market. We've had big hits like Doolally, Energy 52 and the Unkle single with Ian Brown. We do the Fierce Panda label probably the coolest 7" vinyl label and we do a lot of hip-hop. But we also did the recent Go Between's compilation Bella Vista which is doing quite well."
Ahern is keen to stress that Vital offers 100% coverage throughout Ireland and is not confined to the larger urban centres
"We actually prioritise the country shops and independent chains we speak to every single shop in the country every week. We sell to Lee Records in Tralee, Mixmaster in Castlebar, the Golden Disc Chain. That's what captured our imagination. There are big clubs in Limerick and Cork and other towns and cities where they are hungry for good music. We're here as a result of them getting in touch with the UK seeking out those records. There was a demand they wanted Spirtualized, they wanted LTJ Bukem and they weren't here.
As the company becomes more established in the Irish market Ahern is confident that more labels will come on board Vital's network.
"There are a few labels who had sought out distribution here in the past but couldn't get it off the ground before Vital existed, he observes. We've now proved ourselves in the market and can offer those labels the chance to use the Vital infrastructure in the Republic." n