Arthur Guinness Projects: The Script

In many ways The Script are the ideal ambassadors for the Arthur Guinness Projects. Since the Dublin trio starting making waves in the pop world, they’ve been eager to give younger acts a leg-up, whether taking The Original Rudeboys on a European tour or – in Danny’s case – championing the young Tyrone singer Andrea Begley to victory on The Voice UK.

At the launch of the Arthur Guinness Projects initiative, they do four superb stripped-down songs to entertain guests. The mind-boggling list of record sales, platinum discs and Billboard Top 20 hits rolled out in John Kelly’s introduction gives a powerful sense of what a small arts-related business – because that’s precisely what a band is – in Ireland can achieve on a global scale. To start with, however, the band are keen to stress that the Arthur Guinness Projects is not a ‘song contest’.
“I think it’s important to emphasise that,” says Danny. “Everyone will look at our involvement and their minds might just gravitate to sending songs. But we don’t want to exclude all those people out there who have really good ideas.”
Mark Sheehan offers an example. “You have streaming services right now which are definitely leading the way over downloads,” he says. “There’s some kids in this country who probably have an answer to ‘what’s the best way to deliver music to people?’. I think the youth will have an awful lot to say about that. They have probably the simplest solutions in the world. So, I’m hoping we’ll discover some really cool solution for how to deliver music.”
“We’re also meeting young business people all around the world that have these fantastic ideas,” continues Danny. “What’s great now about young businesses is that they’re not only trying to sell a product and make a profit, they’re also trying to house their business so it culturally gives back as well. Business doesn’t have to be selfish.”
Drummer Glen Power has spoken before about how The Script’s success was down to their own desperation – and the hard work it inspired.
“We were at a point – after many, many years in the industry – where we saw collectively, in each other, that same desire, hunger and ambition,” says Power. “We’re still like that today: even though we’ve had success, we’re still as hungry to go to the next chapter and find out what’s there for us.”
Before teaming up with Power in Dublin, Sheehan and O’Donoghue had been working as producers, musicians and writers-for-hire in the US. It has stood them in good stead in an industry where it’s a help if you are a ‘master of all trades’.
“Myself and Danny were really struggling in America trying to produce records for big people,” recalls Sheehan. “There were times when we were getting work just playing guitar and stuff. Or Danny was just doing vocal production. So you’re being an engineer, you’re being a vocalist, you’re being a top-line writer. I think that necessity has now benefitted us to the point where we do everything in the studio ourselves.”
O’Donoghue agrees. “As a band, there are so many streams of revenue. It can be sliced and diced so many different ways that the artist only ends up with a small percentage. Whereas if you learnt all those skills and brought those skills up to the level of your songwriting and your singing, you’re earning all that revenue. There’s nobody from England coming in trying to take cash away from you.”
O’Donoghue jokes that, having just acted as a mentor on The Voice UK, he’s happy for the others to “take the lead on this one.” But all three are heavily invested.
“It’s fun! “ says O’Donoghue. “In fairness, most of the time we spend in the back of the bus, we’re talking about new ideas. Apps, new music things. If this wasn’t something we felt we could add something serious to, then we wouldn’t do it. We used to be a young band that were really using the internet to create our own business model, but now we’re being embraced by the bigger labels. The labels are like giant ships. it takes such a long time to turn the ship. They’re still talking about about ‘oh, downloading’s really big on the internet’. That was 10 years ago!”
Power sighs: “Streaming is the next big thing! – and it’s robbing our industry right now!”
“I think we have an insight into the business,” says O’Donoghue finally. That insight will now be put at the service of the Arthur Guinness Projects. Long may it continue...