It's time for more Irish music on Irish radio

It was the crucial moment in Music Ireland ‘07. At 3 o’clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the room allocated to the panels was packed to capacity. People were being turned away in numbers. Up on the podium were Louis Walsh, Steve Wall of The Walls, Julie Feeney, John Clarke of 2FM, Kieran McGeary of 96FM in Cork and Feilim Byrne of Nielsen Music Control. With Stuart Clark of Hot Press moderating, things were primed for a good, old-fashioned schmozzle. Which is precisely what we got.

The fundamental question being asked was this: are Irish artists getting a fair crack of the whip on Irish radio? It was an act of courage in itself for John Clarke and Kieran McGeary to put themselves in the firing line for a debate like this. Given the very name of the event, it was obvious where the sympathy of the majority of the audience would lie. The fact that numerous musicians and band managers had turned out to hear what the panel had to say rendered the atmosphere all the more tense and expectant.
For those involved in music programming for radio, the charge sheet was a familiar one:
*Irish artists simply don’t get enough radio play;
*whatever Irish music quotas are in place are generally met by playing a hopelessly conservative menu of familiar big names: the ones that benefit most are U2, Van Morrison, Westlife, The Corrs and similarly well-known artists;
*new Irish music – and Irish rock music in particular – is generally ghettoised in the 7pm to 7am period, when audiences are notoriously small;
*the approach to playlists is so narrow that you as good as never hear the likes of Christy Moore or Mary Black (to take just two examples) on any station;
*there is a moral obligation on Irish radio to play Irish music but that is ignored by stations on the basis that their commercial interests are paramount;
*there is more than enough good Irish music that deserves to be heard and would fit any of the different radio formats – but with the odd exception it is completely neglected;
*meanwhile, a huge amount of inconsequential international dross is given heavy rotation, clogging up the airwaves with a kind of sonic pollution.
And that’s just for starters!
The response from John Clarke and Kieran McGeary was unapologetic. Clarke, who is a hugely knowledgeable and passionate fan of good music, defended 2FM’s position by stressing the station’s commitment to new talent. He cited the Rock Sessions and the recently introduced 2Moro Tour as initiatives which are an important part of 2FM’s public service remit. But he made the point also that it was not the job of 2FM, or indeed any radio station, to support Irish music willy-nilly. He argued that if Irish music was good enough it would be played – but a lot of what is submitted to 2FM didn’t achieve the required standard.
Kieran McGeary went even further. He emphasised that radio is a business and a highly competitive one. If you play tracks that don’t go down well, you lose listeners. No station can afford to run that risk – because if you lose listeners, it costs you advertising revenue. He claimed that 96FM does give Irish music a fair chance – but he insisted that there is no point in talking about a moral obligation. Irish radio is among the most listened to in Europe. Radio stations are doing a lot right. Why should they put their business at risk by deviating from a successful formula?
The counter charges rained in. Why do the likes of Damien Rice, Paddy Casey, Damien Dempsey and other successful Irish artists get so little play? Are the radio programmers saying that Damien Rice isn’t good enough? Why can you never hear Christy Moore? Are they saying he has no place?
At the end, the room was left with a multitude of questions, and not a lot of clear-cut answers. But that is to be expected. By listening to the programmers, Irish artists and bands will have gleaned an insight into how radio people think. On the other side, the hope is that the passion that was evident in the room – not least from Louis Walsh, Julie Feeney and Steve Wall, who all performed extremely well on the day – will force a re-think among radio bosses and inspire them to make a more conscious effort to include tracks by Irish artists.
So… where do we go from here?

One of the problems relates to how play lists are compiled. Radio people whisper that the UK charts, and indeed the playlists of UK stations, are the starting point for the more music orientated stations here. The job of the programmer is rendered far easier if there is a ‘model’ from which to work. All that’s required then is a cut’n’paste job, with a few variations thrown in to give it a veneer of distinction. But how appropriate is that as a way to go about the job, given that there is such a vibrant and active local scene in Ireland?
If that is the approach taken by radio stations, it would explain the homogenisation of Irish radio, the observation that is so often made that – except where a personality DJ is involved – you’d never know which station you were listening to, until the station ident is pumped out.
In fairness, there is an important issue that simply cannot be wished away – and it is especially acute for the smaller commercial stations. How do you get around to listening to the colossal number of records that are released every week, including Irish records? It is an impossible task. The concern is that too many programmers simply give up, with the effect that very little that is new or different can get a look in, especially if it is Irish.
So let’s cut to the chase in relation to one vexed question: the unassailable truth is that there is more than enough great (or even just very good) Irish music being released to ensure that there should be no difficulty fulfilling any 30% quota. Lots of this is more than radio-friendly enough to justify daytime play. An inevitable question follows: what mechanisms might be established to facilitate the inclusion of the best and most suitable of this Irish music in playlists, ahead of at least some of the homogenous international material?
Rather than get into polemic mode, here’s a few thoughts:
*That 2FM and Radio 1 need to take the lead. RTÉ is the national broadcaster. The stations have a public service remit that extends to supporting the arts in Ireland. This can be done in the context of contemporary Irish music simply by playing more records by Irish artists. The quality is there. Indeed, there is no reason why all RTÉ stations should not invoke a voluntary 40% quota: I know it would require people who are choosing records to put a bit more thought into the process, but that can only be for the better;
*That this does not (or would not) exonerate licensed commercial stations from their obligation to play Irish music. On the contrary, the BCI is in a position to enforce a regime that would require stations to play a mix of Irish folk music, and other forms that utilise a uniquely Irish musical language, in with their various formats. Rather than provoking this more extreme interpretation of what is required, the stations should go the extra mile to ensure that Irish music is appropriately supported on Irish radio. Mark my words: it can be done without alienating listeners;
*That RTÉ and the BCI – separately or together – should create an independent playlist committee, whose remit it would be to identify a selection of Irish tracks for inclusion in playlists on a weekly basis. This would be a way of counteracting, to some degree at least, the tendency to rely on UK playlists as the basis for those that are selected here;
*That all radio stations would agree to pick one new Irish artist a month to promote – and that these specially selected acts would be afforded the kind of radio play given to the big international names that end up at the top of the radio playlist charts nationally. In the commercial sector this could be co-ordinated through either the BCI or the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI).
It doesn’t take much in the way of patriotism, or a sense of community even, to adopt policies of this kind. All that’s required is a spark of interest in the music – and the willingness to invest a bit of extra hard work into identifying the tracks to play. There is a festering resentment out there now that just might transform itself into something much more potent. Rather than hanging around for that to manifest itself, it would be far better for Irish radio stations to grasp the initiative...