State of play

Had one been trying to assess the current state and future potential of the Irish Music Industry a couple of months ago it would almost certainly have reflected a substantially positive outlook in general.

But the events in the USA in September and the current and future fall-out from those events may have a serious impact on the Irish music industry in the short-term at least, with the long-term effects largely in the hands of Gung-ho George and Tally-ho Tony.

Most of the countries on whom Irish artists and record labels depend for their revenues from record sales and concerts are likely to suffer some kind of recession in the immediate future. The transportation of records, merchandise and musicians around the world is almost certain to become a more costly matter through the impact of additional security and insurance costs on airline travel.

But even the most threatening nuclear cloud may throw up an unintended benefit. The continuing cancellation of European tours by American artists may free up the money saved on those gigs and enable the extra Euros to be diverted instead to gigs down the road, where the Irish stars of the future can more profitably hone their talents. The absence of those US artists from the promotional trenches will inevitably result in fewer sales for their records too, once again leaving fans with more loose change, some of which is likely to be spent on local acts.

Those local acts should, hopefully, include some from the Irish Dance scene which has settled down to become an integral part of the Irish music and social scene, and is in a more healthy state now that it’s shaken off its early triumphalism. In many respects the emergence of Dance gave the live rock legion a most necessary kick up the rear from which it is only now really benefiting.

On the record company front, none of the major record labels now has its own distribution depot compared to four sizeable warehouses not so long ago. This has lead to inevitable job losses. But Sony in particular have been creatively active in developing and supporting Irish artists as varied as Christy Moore, Juliet Turner, Brian Kennedy and Frances Black. Universal have lined up behind Paul Brady’s new label, while they have also been involved with the development of trad pop outfit Reel, as well as reviving the career of one Brendan Bowyer. EMI, meantime, can look at the UK chart success of Naimee Coleman and justifiably claim they got there first.

Indigenous Irish labels are suffering mixed fortunes. Tara and the Excellent group of labels have been decidedly quiet in recent times, and we’ve heard some funny noises coming out of the American-based Green Linnet, thereby leaving the bulk of the development of new Irish talent to Dara (with Jack L coming along nicely), Shanachie, Magnetic Music, Gael Linn and the Ritz Music Group.

On the rock front, Treasure Ireland scored massively with The Revs, proving in the process that Irish radio will get behind acts making the music that fits their format, and acts of the calibre of Pierce Turner, Black 47, Don Baker, Paul Brady, Aslan and David Kitt courageously forge their own paths with or without the majors.

Major global sellers like U2, The Cranberries, Van Morrison, The Divine Comedy, The Corrs, Westlife and Samantha Mumba continue to fly the flag for Ireland alongside the ongoing “Celtic” successes of Enya, The Chieftains, Riverdance, Michael Flatley, Altan, Dervish and Ronan Hardiman. And there’s a whole host of rock, indie and dance hopefuls making records and getting them onto the shelves.

The arrival of the Internet has lessened the dependence of ambitious Irish artists on record companies and retailers and many of them now record and release their own CDs, market them by using a combination of the Internet and the established media, sell records and merchandise at gigs and through their own and others’ web sites.

So when people talk about the “independent sector” it is hard to quantify how big or small it is, given the number of artists gamely ploughing their own field of endeavour with little regard to anybody else in towns and villages and potholes all over the country. And why not?

Of course there’s a danger in seeing the Internet as the answer to all ills, and many artists have discovered that having your own website isn’t much craic if nobody knows about it, or cares.

Irish radio, especially with the intelligent programming of 2FM, Today FM, Lyric FM and Radio 1 in the evenings, has never been better. The range of terrific music, often live or exclusively recorded, to be heard from Tom Dunne, John Kelly, the indomitable Fanning, Donal Dineen, the legendary PJ Curtis, Mr Spring, Sandy Harsch, Philip King and others bringing genuine enthusiasm, knowledge, a perceptive historical perspective and an open-mindedness makes Irish music radio more exciting now than it’s ever been. Add to that mix the contribution of numerous local stations – notably Jon Richardson of Galway Bay FM – in helping to give exposure to upcoming acts and we have little to complain about. (Although that won’t stop us!)

The Fairplay For Airplay project has served to highlight those in radio who have the energy, the wit and the intelligence to give exposure to new talent and also affords radio station personnel a channel through which they can feed back practical advice and information for those promoting new talent.

If it’s complaints you want, direct them at our television services whose main talent seems to be in showing us the same imported programmes we can see on other stations on the same night. Despite Ireland being the fifth largest provider of hits to the international market and Dublin having more live music nightly than any other city in Europe (except London) there are times in the year when there are no programmes anywhere on Irish television devoted to live music of any genre! If any part of the Irish entertainment industry needs a serious shaking up it has to be television.

While the long overdue introduction of the Irish Music Board by Minister de Valera was immediately denounced outright by Louis Walsh, it at least stands as a kind of recognition that the Irish Music Industry has some value. Under the Chair of Ann O’Connell, the Board has asked for submissions from interested individual and organisations especially as they relate to factors promoting or inhibiting the growth of the industry.

This invitation may be the last chance for armchair and pub critics to have an input into the future development of the industry and those who don’t take the opportunity may have to shut up from here on in.

From an artist’s perspective, IMRO are continuing to refine and expand their collection techniques on behalf of Irish artists and IMRO have been particularly generous in supporting initiatives intended to encourage and stimulate new songwriting talent.

Apart from Sheriff Bush himself, one of the biggest threats to the growth in the Irish music industry is the increasingly xenophobic American music market which continues to steal royalties from Irish songwriters and publishers. One could therefore take some comfort in watching the bigwigs in the US record companies floundering in the wake of Napster as Shawn Fanning and others proved that teenage kids in their bedrooms have a bigger suss on the new technology than the macho machiavellians of downtown Burbank.

The Napster/MP3 situation seems to have little impact on the Irish music industry, but the way in which we receive music may have been irrevocably changed and that’s one area where tomorrow’s threats may still lie in wait for the unwary.

Let’s hope the Irish Music Industry is well prepared, and that any threats can be turned into challenges.

THE KEYBOARD

Sometime towards the end of the last century hotpress published a blueprint for the future growth of the Irish Music Industry which was subsequently circulated to relevant government departments. It subsequently formed the basis of more than one degree thesis and earned plaudits from political movers and shakers as diverse as Seamus Brennan and Michael D Higgins.

That blueprint was the first time a cogent argument for the setting up of a government-sponsored Irish Music Board appeared in print. When Michael D Higgins later set up his Music Industry Task Force one of its central conclusions was the need for such a board.

The Irish Music Board was eventually set up early this year with Ann O’Connell as Chairperson and an eight-person board of

experienced practitioners from the Irish music industry.

O’Connell comes from a background in strategic planning and a career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and a spell with the Irish Film Board, so what were her first impressions of the music industry on taking up her Irish Music Board post?

“I was initially impressed with the great diversity, the different types of music and the tremendous vibrancy in the industry,” she says. “I was impressed by the vast array of talent in the Irish music industry, not just the songwriters and artists, but managers, producers and so on. It became obvious very quickly that the raw material is there. We just have to nurture it and develop it to its full potential.”

She acknowledges that the Irish record market is dominated by the majors and sees the Music Board focusing more closely on the independent sector and encouraging that sector to develop initiatives which will lead to sustainable careers for artists and those who work with them:

“The Music Board’s approach will work from the grass roots up across all genres of music, not just trad and folk. But I’ve noticed that the

independent sector is quite fragile. They don’t really have the capital base, nor the skills nor the international contacts to help their artists sustain careers on the international market. The Music Board should have a role in guiding them.”

As O’Connell puts it very unambiguously, the Board is coming from a specifically commercial rather than an artistic perspective. “Yes, our approach is primarily commercial,” she agrees. “But if you don’t create commercial success then you don’t have an environment in which artists can create and develop. If you don’t get the commercial end of it right then the artistic aspirations can’t really thrive.”

O’Connell is also keen to dispel any

perception of the Music Board as a target for those queuing with their begging bowls. “The Irish Music Board will have a hard, practical edge to the work we do. We will take a tough approach to the task in hand and are determined to help create a solid base on which the diverse talents available right across the Irish Music Industry can reach the fullest potential,” she says.

She is also anxious that all those individuals and organisations who have views on how the Irish Music Industry should develop should send their submissions to the Board: “This is a chance for everybody with something valuable to say to say it. All proposals we receive will be taken very seriously and given due attention and consideration. We want to hear from as wide a spectrum as possible.”

Submissions should be sent to Ann O’Connell, Chairperson, Irish Music Board, c/o PricewaterhouseCoopers, George’s Quay,

Dublin 2.

PLAYING DIVIDENDS

Jessica Fuller is Manager of the IRMA Trust Instrument Bank, formally launched in 1999 to loan instruments to music projects and to enable children and young adults, primarily from disadvantaged communities, to actively participate in music-making. Already 80 music projects have benefited from their efforts.

Through those projects, Fuller has observed the volume of music activity taking place throughout the country, most of which feeds into the commercial music industry.

“In that context,” she maintains, “the current state of the industry is healthy. With the economic developments in Ireland over the last decade, the industry has thrived on many levels, with more funding available, more jobs created and more services in place. However, there is still much to do.”

Fuller believes that one of the major

challenges facing the industry is identifying how best to encourage creative composition, while also ensuring equitable remuneration for musicians’ services.

“Through our work at the IRMA Trust,” she says, “we have found that, aside from social and economic disadvantage,

geographic location is one of the main obstacles to music development here, with many organisations and services operating from the larger cities and towns. This inhibits the growth of some music.”

While music is taught, practiced and played all over the country, there is something seriously lacking in the approach of our education system.

“There’s an abysmal lack of equipment and instruments in schools,” Jessica says, “and we rely heavily on interested teachers providing music facilities. This results in a cultural deficiency. We do not have a full-time third level course in jazz and we lose many potential musicians who give up, move abroad to develop their talent or are never afforded an opportunity to nurture it.”

Of the changes in the Irish Music Industry in recent years, Fuller singles out the following as the most significant:

• The creation of a dedicated department of arts and culture with a designated Minister (currently Sile de Valera) responsible for the development of all the arts. This, Fuller points out, has enabled the creation of the Music Board in partnership with the music industry, but it also gave rise to Music Network, the music development agency for traditional,

classical and jazz music, and provided more funding, currently disseminated via the Arts Council.

• The opening up of the music industry in Ireland, with phenomenal developments including the replacing of PRS by IMRO.

• The enormous leaps in technology, both hardware and software which have brought very exciting new opportunities for writers, producers and performers.

But it’s not all good either. Fuller has also observed that “Despite the plethora of venues there is still little encouragement for live original performers. Fees take no account of the creative process, rehearsals, the costs involved (engineer, transport, humpers, pr).”

Nor is this necessarily the fault of

promoters. While the Arts Council has responded to needs in jazz and traditional music, with numerous grants and awards now available, Jessica points out that “unfortunately, pop, rock and indie music fall between the commercial world and the creative and many thereby lose out, with minimal support for artists in those genres.

“Ireland remains at the bottom of the

ladder when it comes to supporting indigenous music. ”

Which, clearly, is not the place to be.

PRODUCING THE GOODS

If Ireland is to thrive in the international music industry, we need more world class producers. So says Darragh Kettle, Irish boss of publishing giants Peermusic. He also brings news of a fresh policy in Peermusic Ireland.

According to Kettle: “We are honoured to have access to the world’s finest ‘organic’ songwriters, organic being those who write in the traditional style using guitar or piano. However, as major labels increasingly reduce the lead time from ‘deal to releases’ artists are in reality being allowed to take more control of the material they record and release. While there are many positive aspects to this development, few artists possess the production skills required to deliver the finished product. In this country producers with real international experience are very rare and we need to increase their numbers if this business is to grow in the decades ahead.”

In the light of this, Kettle forsees a potentially controversial shift in emphasis for Peermusic, over the coming 12 months.

The Peermusic man also believes: “We now have new opportunities to actively participate in the development of the careers of our writers and artists,” he says. “For the foreseeable future, in this market, I have decided to sign, almost exclusively, producers or writer/producers.

“Scandinavia is the model in this regard, and while the sound may be changing again, the format of writer/producer teams is still the norm.

“Ireland needs to follow a similar road.”

THE GRASS ROOTS VIEW

THE GRASS ROOTS VIEW

Angela Dorgan is Chief Executive Officer with the Federation of Music Collectives. Her role brings her into contact with musicians at their most formative stage, as they try to get to grips with the complexities of the industry.

How would you assess the current state of the Irish Music Industry?

“It concerns me that revenue generated by Irish acts signed to the majors does not get re-invested in the Irish Music Industry. The resident Majors in Ireland seem to have little signing power.”

But there have been significant successes.

“The Traditional Music sector is quite organised and has good international relations. The Dance music sector is beginning to diversify and some in-roads are beginning to be made by long-established DJs in terms of long-term support and development.

“However, success at the Pop end of the music market is based on cyclical tastes and the power of the marketing machine and is cornered by a small but powerful minority. You have to ask, is that a good thing?”

What have been the most significant changes in the last 10 Years?

“The number of Music Collectives facilitating grass roots music access has developed from eleven to thirty four centres all over Ireland. The introduction of the FMC as a co-ordinating body has enabled this growth to be planned for and facilitated by access to instruments, access to quality industry information of local and international importance (seminars, training programmes, workshops, fact sheets) and development of new avenues of access and participation in music.

“The appointment of the new Music Board will hopefully stimulate a response from the Department of Finance to invest in music at various input levels, as well as encouraging the development of creativity within music on a parallel with the commercial aspects of music development.”

What would you identify as a key problem?

“The monopolisation of venues in Ireland has brought great international acts to Ireland in recent years but it has had a serious detrimental effect on the provision of gigs for indigenous artists. ‘Pay-to-play’ is still the norm in the capital.”

How do you see FMC’s role in relation to future growth of the industry?

“The FMC will continue providing quality information to all sources and report on our findings from grass roots activities. We will facilitate the emergence of new organisations (e.g. we’re currently nurturing the emergence of the new DJ association), and we will facilitate the coming together of the independent music sector.

“We intend to direct the concerns of our sector into submissions to the new Music Board and to nourish new artists through our membership. And we will continue developing strategic partnerships in the industry sector (current partners include IMRO, the IRMA Trust, PPI, RAAP) to encourage investment in grass roots music in Ireland.”