Isn’t it time the Irish Government got serious about the music industry?

The government should be doing more to support Irish music. In fact, it might be more appropriate to say that they should be doing something. Anything. But they are currently doing what amounts to nothing at all.
I know that statements like that are easily made, but that doesn’t make this one any less true. First Music Contact is funded in part by the Arts Council, and that’s a good thing. But, as a support for the industry overall it is wholly inadequate, given the difficulties being faced on an ongoing basis by Irish musicians, even relatively well known ones.
Let’s put it in perspective. Irish music has contributed hugely to the positive perception of this country internationally. U2 are have clearly been the most important ambassadors in this respect over a sustained period of time, but Enya, The Chieftains, Sinead O’Connor, The Corrs, Kila, The Frames, Damien Rice, The Thrills, Snow Patrol, David Holmes and a host of others have also played their part. It is a fact that Ireland punches far above its weight in the music arena internationally. It is also a fact that this is one of the great attractions of this country to tourists. But it is also very significant to investors, as it has been an essential part of building the sense that there is an unusual level of innovation, education, creativity and culture here, into which business and industry can plug.
The value of all of this to the Irish economy would be impossible to quantify – but it is enormous. And yet there is no structure at all that effectively recognises rock music or ‘popular’ music, as having any cultural validity, or as being an art form worthy of support. Despite the importance of music, the government has given nothing back to the musicians. Well, it’s time they started to…

I was asked to take part in a debate in the Leviathan tent at the Electric Picnic. The theme – the Music Industry is a dying empire – turned out to be a jumping off point for a slew of different views as to where rock’n’roll is likely to head over the next 10 years or so. But, in the end, as these things tend to, more than anything else it focussed on the grievances that musicians – and to an extent fans of ‘real’ music – tend to share about the way in which the industry works.
The majors came in for a predictable hammering. A&R scouts were given short shrift. The state of Irish radio was loudly lamented. All familiar stuff, about which it is healthy for people to vent their feelings. Fine.
There was, however, a consensus that things aren’t as good as they used to be. Now I had to point out that, in the context of Ireland in particular, this argument leaves me thoroughly bewildered. Those making it paint a picture of a golden age that has vanished into the mists of the past, never to return. But that golden age never existed. It is a myth.
The reality is a little bit more complicated.
To begin with, in the international arena, there are many ways in which things have improved for artists. Their rights are better protected under international copyright agreements. They are less likely to be grossly exploited or ripped off by record companies unscrupulously releasing their material without either payment or permission. And, in general, they get a bigger slice of any revenues generated by their work than at any time previously.
Which is not to say that everything in the garden is rosy, or that artists have it easy. It isn’t and they don’t. In particular, the fact that, following the mergers of a number of the major record companies, the business is now dominated by just four operators (albeit with numerous arms), presents a real problem: when there are fewer potential outlets competing for an artist’s work, then, logically, it is more difficult for most artists to connect with an A&R guy who might just love them enough to convince his or her label to invest heavily.
Similarly, with record companies, promoters and other entertainment business interests extending their activities into radio, TV and the web, there is a real danger that new obstacles are being erected, to make it harder for emerging artists to gain vital exposure if and when they do get their records released. In particular, the extent to which radio is controlled globally by a relatively small number of players has the potential to stifle great new music. And that has a political dimension too, as the experience of the Dixie Chicks and Linda Ronstadt, who found themselves ostracised by elements within the U.S. industry after they had taken an anti-Bush line on the war in Iraq, confirms.
It would be stupid not to acknowledge these issues. But if it’s true, as their critics claim, that the major players are slow on their feet, fail to spot talent and are afraid to take risks, then surely that opens up opportunities for new companies to get into the game and to compete effectively by doing all of these things that bit better than their establishment rivals. If there is inertia within the industry, smart indies can profit from that.
But, in any event, the Irish experience suggests that the majors may be doing a better job of talent spotting than they are usually given credit for. Indeed, so that we cannot be accused of ill-informed criticism of the government, it is important to spell out the facts, where the position of Ireland and Irish musicians within the industry are concerned.

Without a shadow of doubt, this is an age of unprecedented opportunity for Irish artists and bands. There was a time in the not too dim and distant past – until about 1976, in fact – when it was virtually impossible to get an A&R scout to come to Ireland to see an Irish band in action. The Boomtown Rats and then U2 – and the fact that from its inception HotPress was being read by key people in the industry in the UK – changed that. Now, in 2006, there are a number of Irish industry figures holding down key A&R roles in the UK industry. As a result of all of these factors, the business is more open to Irish talent than ever.
The last two years has seen a huge upsurge in the number of bands from Ireland being signed to international deals. Within the last 18 months alone, Universal Music have taken bands as varied as The Blizzards (signed to Universal Ireland), The Marshals, Director, Humanzi, Red Organ Serpent Sound from Derry and The Flaws onto their roster. In addition, Royseven’s debut was funded by Universal Music in Germany.
Meanwhile, Hal and The Immediate have plugged into the indie circuit via Rough Trade and Fantastic Plastic respectively, with the latter releasing one of the most highly acclaimed debuts of the past ten years with In Towers And Clouds. Duke Special is one of V2’s priority acts. Leanne Harte’s new record is out in France through Bad Reputation. The list goes on, and I could too, but I want to get to the end of this...
Simultaneously, there are new opportunities for artists to get their records out through local distributors like RMG, record companies like Independent Records, Ruby Works or Dara Records or on their own labels. This last was the route taken by The Frames, Damien Rice, Kila and Eleanor McEvoy (to name but a few) and the likes of Republic of Loose, David Kitt and Julie Feeney have recently followed the same path with some success.
So the prophets of doom and gloom have it wrong. Objectively speaking, Irish artists making original music – especially original rock music – are being given the opportunity to shine like never before. Some will make it stick. Others won’t. That’s in the nature of things. Some will blossom briefly and fade. Others will go on to establish long-term careers. At the moment, however, what you can say for sure is that all of this is happening without any kind of input or assistance of real substance from the government or other agencies of the State.
Here’s the rub. Despite the fact that – comparatively speaking – this is a time of plenty for Irish musicians in terms of opportunity, it is tough out there. For every band that gets a deal, there are fifty that don’t. Besides, even with a decent level of success it can be hard to make a living. The hours are long. The work is draining. And often the rewards are slim. The Irish market is small. With the odd exception, you simply can’t make a living in the long run based on Irish success alone.
So what might the government usefully do? Well, for a start, get away from the condescending notion that rock music – or popular music or whatever they want to call it – doesn’t merit financial support. Or need it. Whatever about the music business, the fact is that musicians do.
I am not going to lay down the full Hot Press blueprint for the industry here. But there’s a couple of easily managed initiatives that would make a big difference.
*There is a move to develop Culture Ireland, which is chaired by the musician, Micheál ó Súilleabháin, as a fully staffed statutory agency, whose role it will be to support Irish cultural practitioners touring or performing abroad. They have sought €6 million in funding for their first year, €4.8 million of which would be designated for grant support. Whether within this figure, or as an extra, a fund should be set aside specifically to support Irish musicians – especially Irish indie musicians, from Kila through Messiah J and the Expert to The Jimmy Cake but very specifically including rock bands – to tour internationally. In many instances it could be the thing enables an act to secure a release in a territory – or in half a dozen territories – that otherwise might pass on an album.
*Elsewhere in this issue, there is a report on an Irish day at the ‘Festival of Holidays’ in the Czech Republic. Funding for similar events elsewhere, with independent Irish artists to the fore, should also fall within the Culture Ireland remit and be actively brokered or encouraged.
*It should be included specifically in the Arts Council’s remit that they fund the recording and marketing of a significant number of albums by Irish artists, particularly ones of high artistic ambition and especially in areas of music where the investment is likely to be harder to come by – blues and trad spring immediately to mind. But rock musicians should benefit also: for example, the money to pay an international producer to come to Ireland to oversee the recording of an album might make the crucial difference to its acceptance within the industry, and to its eventual success.
It is quite clear that the Film Board – which has been doing an excellent job – and the funding available through it, have been a huge factor in the growth of independent film making in Ireland. The BCI Fund and the tax incentives built into Section 481 have also contributed to what is a far healthier climate now than previously existed. The Minister with responsibility for the arts, John O’Donoghue, deserves credit in relation to this. But it would be a better measure of his vision, if he recognised that music would benefit from a similar approach, and went about making it happen.
Let’s not rehash the debate about the Music Board here.
The fact is that is would be possible to make a big difference to a lot of musicians if, by way of getting things started, even an amount of €5 million were to be dispensed directly to benefit bands and artists, along the lines I have suggested, through Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. Given what Irish music has done – and is capable of doing in the future – for the economy and for the country, it is the least that might be expected.