THE BIGGEST problem which faces Irish music is the size of the local market. At just five million people, including Northern Ireland, it isn’t big enough to sustain a successful artist’s career over a prolonged period. Ironically, that limitation may also prove to be one of our biggest assets. Because, forced to look beyond our own shores for markets and sales, the Irish music industry is now taking on the world with a greater degree of professionalism, determination and conviction than ever before.

This was reflected in the huge turnout of Irish companies attending this year’s MIDEM in Cannes, an event at which representatives from record companies, publishers, radio stations, music rights groups and other industry operations from around the world gather together to shoot the breeze, debate issues, renew contacts and do deals. It is the world’s largest and most important music market and the Irish are playing an increasingly important part in it.

This year the Irish stand was doubled in size. A new, more modern design added hugely to the visual appeal of the installation. Two full-time assistants were employed to handle queries throughout the five days of the exhibition. The stand was designed so that meetings could be held on the spot. A couple of listening booths and a video monitor completed the arrangement, clearly adding up to by far the best facilities yet put in place by An Bord Tráchtála, who co-ordinate and support the Irish delegation. The result was a constant through-flow of international industry people, with hundreds turning up on spec and connecting with the appropriate Irish representatives. The level of interest in Irish music was enormous. A lot of business was done. A lot more will be done over the coming months if initial indications are anything to go by.

“So far the feedback has been nothing but positive,” says Derry O’Brien, An Bord Tráchtála’s Mr Music. “Certainly more deals are pending this year than would have been the case last year. A lot of serious business was done and if that can be translated into contracts then it’ll have been a very, very good MIDEM for us. As is always the case it’s the quality of the follow-up which will make all the difference but I do know that very good groundwork was laid in Cannes.”

Derry is particularly happy that the changes and developments introduced this year worked out well, despite some criticisms from within the industry (see News). “There was more activity on the stand than ever before,” Derry comments. “I think the increased size helped in this respect. The working areas and the listening booths which we had for the first time were very successful. The showcase concept also proved to be a successful one, with both An Emotional Fish and Georgia finding it very beneficial. Obviously the actual working of these things can be refined but I think the basic formula we developed this year is right.”

On the subject of funding, and the calls from some industry sources for an increase in government support, O’Brien is pragmatic. “There will always be calls for more money,” he reflects. “But there has to be a fee charged to companies as a measure of their commitment. If the people who are doing the complaining were to attempt to get to MIDEM individually they’d get a very rude awakening. I think we’ve worked out a very cost-effective package for people in the business when you consider that the overall cost of putting the show together is £75,000.

“We realise that there is a price threshold but the £350 participation fee we charge is one of the lowest for any event of this kind right across the house here. Given more money we could certainly spend it usefully. At the same time I’m happy to be able to say that for the money we are spending, we’ll get a good return.”

This year was Green Linnet’s first as part of the Irish stand,

so Amy Garvey came to the event free of any baggage. Overall, she was very impressed with what she saw.

“There was an awful lot of interest in Irish music,” she says, “and the people who were interested were coming to the Irish stand. For us, it was invaluable being there. We made great progress in terms of expanding our contacts for European distribution, which was a major priority. We also made very good contacts regarding Asian distribution. Obviously there’s a lot of follow-up work to be done but already a lot of faxes from contacts have been landing on my desk.”

How did Amy think the Irish stand in general operated?

“It was a bit of a shock to the system going there for the first time seeing the extent of the hustle involved and how much of a supermarket it is. But on the other hand it’s encouraging to see how hard working people are. In no way is it a junket. Watching the representatives from the 30-odd Irish companies in action, everyone worked their butts off. Despite the myriad temptations, everyone was on the floor at nine o’clock – I’ve never seen a conference where people worked so hard.”

Amy is also thrilled at the reception accorded to Martin Hayes, Green Linnet’s champion fiddler. “He knocked ’em dead,” she comments. “There was an incredible buzz in the press room about Martin the day after the gig and there were dozens of people looking for pictures and biogs. The same was true of Sharon Shannon. I think the panel who picked the acts for the showcase gigs chose very well.”

Alan Connaughton of Starc Records – another first timer – is similarly up-beat. “I was only there for two days and I crammed in a lot of meetings,” he reflects. “I had 27 or 28 in that short space and I think I gained a very good perspective on what’s going on out there. In some way it confirmed a lot of my own instincts but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of interest in the records we’re making.”

Distribution deals for Germany, America and Switzerland as well as Spain and Portugal are likely to result from this year’s visit in the short term.

“Once we get the money in on initial orders we’ll have covered our costs going down,” he says, “which is great. Previously we’d tended to think in terms of doing licencing deals for product but we’re shifting a little bit away from that. There was a lot of interest from people who will buy finished product which is great in that you know what’s going out. You control it. Those kind of distribution deals are very attractive, especially if you can find the right people to work with.

“We got approached by some people who we felt wouldn’t be the right ones to work with. The people we’re going with genuinely like the music and were convinced that they’ll work very hard to sell it because they are enthusiastic. The trick for a label like ours is to pick people who, if you like, are into wide marketing.”

The result is that albums by people like Thom Moore, whose All Things Bright And Beautiful was particularly well received, Speranza, Máire Breatnach, Declan Masterson and Sonny Condell will reach far wider audiences than would otherwise have been the case. Which from a musician’s point of view, as well as that of the record company, is what it’s all about . . .

Victor Finn of the Irish Office of the MCPS is also upbeat about

the Irish involvement in MIDEM, and about the prospects for Irish music internationally. “This time around the Irish stand looked far more professional and operated in a far more professional way. I thought it worked very well, and that the fact that we have a national presence works very well in our favour – that said, there is a serious case for more funding. I think the level of resources allocated to music overall is inadequate. Certainly I think this is one occasion where an increased investment by An Bord Tráchtála or by the government would make sense.”

For the MCPS, MIDEM provides an opportunity to develop stronger contacts with reciprocal organisations from Japan, the US, Australia, Germany and so on. There is also a need to keep up to date with developments in legislation worldwide, which can have an impact on the capacity of MCPS members to assert their ownership rights. And finally, MIDEM provides a unique forum for a range of industry conferences regarding the challenges presented to copyright owners by the proliferation of new technology. “You have to be well informed to be a good and effective lobbying group on behalf of your members,” Finn remarks. “MIDEM is an essential port of call in that context.”

He won’t be drawn on his own views on the battle over the cultural deduction which is taken on all royalties collected in France, Italy and other European countries. “What I will say is that if there is to be a cultural deduction, that we should strive to have an agreed allocation throughout Europe. That would be the most sensible approach. That way people would have more confidence in the system. At the moment, copyright owners don’t feel that they have reason to feel confidence about either the amount of cultural deductions or the way in which they are being used.”

Noel Cusack of Chart Records is another veteran of many MIDEMs and he found 1995 the most encouraging year to date. “I’ve found that it gets better every year,” he comments. “The interest in Irish music, at this stage, is phenomenal. The Irish stand was the busiest at MIDEM. I personally found that there was a huge awareness from places like Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Germany – if I owned catalogue myself I know I’d do great business but I’m operating more as a broker.”

The biggest album for Noel this year was Philip King’s acclaimed Hummingbird release, Bringing It All Back Home. “I did very well in terms of getting definite orders for that,” Noel reveals. “Obviously you have to have the right product at the right price and transport costs can make the margins a bit tight but this is the area that’s really growing now – good traditional music. There was one chap from Lithuania who came to the stand who was very interested in 4 Men And A Dog. The Dubliners are very strong in Europe. I also saw some Japanese guys looking at the Riverdance video and they were knocked out. I met one guy from The Netherlands who runs an operation called Celtic Music – the amount of catalogue he carries is phenomenal, about 600 Irish CDs. There’s no question about it – the market is out there. Our job is to service it and in that regard MIDEM is vital. I can see that stand having to be bigger next year.”

“I certainly think that’s true,” Pat Dempsey of Lodge Records agrees. “To expect An Bord Tráchtála to do the work for us is just not on. They can provide the facilities, as they do, but it’s up to people in the industry themselves to do the legwork. You have to kick ass to be successful.”

In that regard Pat Dempsey returned from MIDEM in a particularly optimistic frame of mind. “At the moment I’m talking to one of the big three for a deal that would cover the UK, Europe and Australia. This particular guy feels that Andrew Hayman could be huge in that quality singer-songwriter field and I agree. Another guy I met described The Hitchers’ ‘She’ll Be Sorry’ as pop perfection and ‘Red Mohair Jumper’ as the best pop song written by a young band in many years. It’s very encouraging when you get that kind of affirmative feedback from people with clou in the industry.

“I have two potentially very big deals pending. I’m not going to say any more than that because there’s nothing more pointless than hype that doesn’t translate into something tangible and positive but I will say this: a lot of people now know what Lodge Records is all about. It’s very early days yet but the fax is very active. I’m certainly keeping my fingers crossed.”

In a sense, that’s the position which every independent label

mogul has to adopt in the couple of months after MIDEM – which can be pretty difficult if you’re trying to write yourself a cheque but that’s the business, eh! For Oliver Sweeney of Cross-Border Media, it’s a familiar feeling – but things have been developing so well at the label that he’s beginning not to mind!

“This was our third year there,” he explains, “and I feel that we made another major leap forward. I’ll know in the next few weeks the time scale of it but I was very encouraged by the fact that within two days of arriving home, we had made the money back that it cost us to get down – and then some. I’m feeling very optimistic about Melanie O’Reilly’s album and also about the new Draiocht record, which is ready for release. We were very focussed this year, highlighting just two of these projects. We stuck to our agenda and ended up with a lot of people coming to us, which was very positive.”

Where does Oliver feel that the growth areas will be over the coming year? “We’ve had a tremendous show of interest in Melanie in Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan so I think that the Pacific Rim could be a major new area for expansion for Irish music. In the Asian countries they’re very interested in Irish female singers in general. I got the impression once or twice that they could be singing the alphabet as Gaeilge and they’d still buy it. It may have to do with a certain special quality they see in the voices, I don’t know, but there’s certainly huge potential there.

“Obviously if we can tap into that, the hope is that other areas of Irish music can be exposed to these new audiences at the same time. It’ll be interesting now to see how many Irish companies go to MIDEM Asia in May. There’s such a huge population in South East Asia that it’s an area that the Irish industry should be focussing on now.”

There is also a very high level of awareness of Irish music in Europe, with the new markets in Eastern Europe also looking promising. “That’s slightly longer term,” Oliver observes, “in that they have to get their retail systems sorted out and the very low value of their currencies is also a problem. But the appetite for Irish music is apparent even now.”

And that, of course, seems to be the key. With one major success story following another – from U2 through Enya to Riverdance, and covering all points around, about and inbetween – the big question now seems to be: how do we satisfy the enormous demand which exists for Irish music in the most effective way, so that we keep the maximum number of musicians in work, and create the kind of infrastructure which will guarantee that the chain of success is prolonged.

On the evidence of this year’s MIDEM, Ireland retains the potential to become one of the world’s great centres of music. Certainly if we can match what’s going on in the areas of indigenous music and in rock, in both dance and pop our central role will be guaranteed. As it is we’re making a strong play but it’ll only work if we can successfully reach those international audiences hungry for a breath of fresh Irish air, and a blast of the real thing.

It won’t be for want of trying.

HEART ATTACK!

WITHOUT A doubt, one of the most exciting developments in Irish music in a long time is the launching of the Celtic Heartbeat label. First revealed by Hot Press about a year ago, plans for the operation have been progressing steadily over the past six months. Now the hour has finally dawned for what is certain to be a very important initiative.

Already it has been announced that Celtic Heartbeat will be a worldwide joint venture with Atlantic Records. This announcement was made recently by Atlantic Records’ President Val Azzoli and the co-founders of Celtic Heartbeat, Paul McGuinness (manager of U2), Dave Kavanagh (manager of Clannad) and M.D. Barbara Galavan, confirming months of rumour and speculation on the industry grapevine. Under the terms of the new agreement, Atlantic will exclusively market and distribute Celtic Heartbeat releases worldwide, excluding Ireland.

Celtic Heartbeat will be based in Dublin, with Barbara Galavan as Managing Director. With no less than seven albums scheduled for release at the end of February, it’ll be a baptism of fire for the new label.

“The point is that we’re launching a label,” Barbara Galavan comments. “The success of the venture will depend to a considerable extent on developing a label loyalty. There’s a kind of branding involved, therefore we have to launch a catalogue. With that in mind, after the initial seven albums, we plan to release another half-dozen before the end of the year. After that we’ll release them one at a time.”

During January, Galavan along with the other label principals McGuinness and Kavanagh engaged in a multi-media promotional tour of five cities across the US to formally introduce Atlantic and WEA field staff, press, radio and retailers to the new label.

“The response has been fantastic,” Galavan reflects. “The enthusiasm coming from the media, from Warner branches and from the marketplace has been amazing. Atlantic are really fired up about the project. The feedback that we’re getting is that people can’t understand why no one has done this before.”

One of the most positive aspects of the label as a real home for Irish music of the non-rock variety is the extent to which it gives artists access to a major’s marketing and distribution muscle, without being subject to the demand to sell vast quantities of records.

“If we had a million-selling record it’d be the exception,” Barbara Galavan comments. “Everybody knows that. Obviously, we hope that they’re all going to be big but in general albums in this genre don’t sell in those quantities. That’s where label branding comes in.

“A sense of real optimism can be felt in Ireland as we move towards the 21st century,” she adds. “It’s being interpreted by Irish composers to give us new music with a sense of adventure. In addition, what emerging young musicians and singers are doing with more traditional material is innovative and exciting. We feel it’s time we shared these results with the rest of the world. Celtic Heartbeat will be the means to do this.”

• ENCOMPASSING a broad spectrum of Irish music, Celtic Heartbeat’s initial release schedule is spearheaded by The Celtic Heartbeat Collection, a compilation of the label’s artists. There will be separate full-length album releases in Europe by Anúna (the acclaimed Anúna); Frances Black (Talk To Me); Máire Breatnach (The Voyage of Bran); Patrick Cassidy (The Children of Lir); Alec Finn (The Blue Shamrock) and Bill Whelan (Riverdance). In the US, the release of Riverdance is being held back, pending the live show debuting there but the vacant slot in the schedule will be filled by the Clannad Themes album, a compilation of their recordings for film, including Patriot Games and Last Of The Mohicans.