The Irish question

Switch on the radio and you’re likely to hear Bell X1 covering Kylie Minogue, or the Republic Of Loose rocking breakfast radio. In general, there’s little denying the fact that the cream of new Irish music has a presence on the Irish airwaves. Scratch the surface, however, and all is not what is seems.
Musicians and radio fans alike were intrigued by the news that the Broadcasting Commission Of Ireland (BCI) recently announced a plan to license additional commercial radio stations within the next three years.
The services planned are based on expressions of interest received earlier in the summer and are subject to the approval of ComReg. These will include three new regional youth services, a quasi-national speech-based service, a national Christian service on AM with FM relays, a classic rock service for Dublin and the commuter belt, a multi-city classic gold/smooth service, and Country and Irish music services for the North-East and Mid-West regions.
Says BCI’s Chief Executive Michael O’Keeffe: “The next three years will see significant changes in the Irish broadcasting landscape with the licensing of a range of additional services. The Commission believes that the decisions reached with regard to further licensing will add to the diversity of services available for all ages and tastes throughout the country.”
In theory, this recent turn of events should mean more music on Irish airwaves – but in reality, will Irish artists fare any better than in recent years? The statistics generated by Nielsen Music Control, who monitor current broadcast output, paint a worrying picture of the current state of play vis-à-vis Irish music on independent and local stations.
Essentially, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has imposed a rule that at least 30% of their current musical output must be Irish.
According to Nielsen's figures, the percentage of Irish plays during the month of May on all of the stations monitored in the Republic was just 21.8% of the total. Between June 6 and 12, the percentage of Irish plays was 21.3%.
Though RTE does not come within the remit of the BCI, it has its own self-imposed commitment to play 25% Irish acts – though how close it comes to this remains a moot point.
Another trend within some of these stations puts things in a bleaker light: Irish artists and their representatives claim that, while larger acts are afforded exposure on high-profile daytime shows, up-and-coming Irish artists are consigned to slots during off-peak hours, when ratings fall.
Music Control point out that, within the month of May, Irish music between midnight to 7 am was on average 29%, while Irish music played between 7am and midnight was 17% – a marked difference.
In the case of one regional station that was seen to play what seemed like an impressive 35% Irish music during May, the breakdown of the figures show Irish music accounted for a mere 13% of daytime output. In the midnight to 7am period, the station played 76% Irish music, thus fulfilling its obligation to the BCI. Unfortunately, in this time slot, there is no presenter to announce the artists whose records are being played – making it almost redundant in terms of promotion.
Feidhlim Byrne of Nielsen Music Control explains: “They say to us, ‘We're playing Irish music’, but they’re playing the older stuff. As a result, new bands are not getting any exposure. Generally, the bigger acts, like Snow Patrol and Paddy Casey tend to have the bigger companies behind them. But if you’re indie, you’ll struggle to get airplay. Some stations might give a song a token play just to get the person plugging the record off their back – although some stations are better than others.”
Dara, who is currently releasing his own records following his departure from the Sony fold, is in full agreement.
“There’s clearly not enough Irish music on the radio,” he asserts. “The crime is that there’s lots of good stuff out there. Radio is a reciprocal business – it’s all about what you can do for them. It’s not about the music and if you have no clout you’re in trouble. Not everyone in radio is a music fan.”
Steve Wall, front-man of Galway’s The Walls, contends that, due to the sheer volume of musical output by Irish artists, it’s more difficult nowadays to get exposure.
“There’s a huge amount of stuff. While it means that the music scene itself is healthy, it sort of becomes a disadvantage too,” he explains. “Most bands can release their own records, so there are too many CDs are out there, and the stuff that should get through takes longer to get through. In radio stations, they’re getting inundated with stuff.”
Speaking about the recent MTV Europe Music Award Nominations, Wall believes that the reason for the under-representation of Irish acts on the pan-European platform might lie a little closer to home.
“Unless you’re The Corrs, U2 or Paddy Casey, it’s almost impossible to get on daytime radio, so it’s no surprise that we’re not represented internationally. We’re not represented in our own country,” he admits. "If Irish bands are finding it impossible to get play-listed on Irish radio, then how is any Irish band going to feature on the world stage? The independent sector isn’t getting support, because an Irish band has to pass stringent quality control before they’re deemed good enough to play on daytime radio.”
On the flipside, a Dublin-based member of a Top 5 Irish act, who prefers not to be named, is less flattering about the current state of play at Irish radio stations.
“It’s a golden age now in the industry here, but maybe radio hasn’t spotted that,” he states. “Some stations in this country must think that their listeners are tone deaf or idiots. When we were pushing our music, we went directly to the local stations and we did say, ‘You really should be playing more Irish music’. We left thinking it was a huge waste of time.
“You got the feeling the CD would end up in the bin, or that the song would be aired once at some strange hour. We were told we were ‘too guitarry’, but funnily, the radio chiefs don’t find U2’s 'Vertigo' ‘too guitarry’!”
The same artist also hinted that, while the collective of indie night-time DJs are fighting the good fight, the specialist off-peak shows are slightly on the wane.
“The evening DJs are great, but they say it’s a bit of a battle to play the stuff because the station boss is checking the survey figures, and telling the DJs to play whatever is on the computer,” he states. “The evening rock shows are not what they were originally meant to be.”
Rejecting generalised criticisms of Irish radio, Alison Curtis – producer of the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show and presenter of The Last Splash – argues that Today FM is wholly open to showcasing new Irish acts.
“It’s changed so much in respect to what daytime presenters play,” she says. “Though he’s not Irish, Bright Eyes is a good example – Ian [Dempsey] and Ray [D’Arcy] play it a lot. When the station started up, they were fairly strict with regards to the playlist, but in the last two years, I have playlisted the Breakfast Show myself.
“I always throw in Irish artists. I don’t think there’s a shortage. There’s no need to fill the BCI quota with U2 or Enya. With Paddy Casey and The Frames, they’ve broken into radio properly, but we also play smaller Irish acts like The Rags.”
Curtis contends that the quality of the song is the main criterion for getting playlisted on the Breakfast Show.
“There are a good few Irish things out there that are very mellow, not what you want to play for breakfast...” she states. “When I playlist Ian, I actively look for Irish stuff to put in, like Joe Chester, who is perfect for daytime radio.”
For his part, Dara is unimpressed: “I think there’s a certain spinelessness within daytime radio. People will say, ‘I like it a lot, but I can’t play it’. But why not? If you like it, it must be okay.”
While the Breakfast Show’s Irish output has been consistently healthy, Curtis points out that on her own show, The Last Splash, the Irish output can often reach 50%.
“For my two shows, we’re very healthy in that regard,” she explains. “Out of the blue, I’ll make an all-Irish hour. My show is a platform for demos. I have more freedom than other shows. I’m happy to take time and listen to the demos I receive. So we’ve never had pressure from the BCI on either show.”
In saying that, Curtis is under no illusion that all daytime presenters are quite so committed.
“The BCI will send in a list of sample hours,” she explains. "And they can be any time of the day, but putting a record out after midnight doesn’t do anyone any favours. It’s cheating the system really.
“In the case of Paddy Casey, a lot of presenters will play it and it assuages their conscience,” she continues. “Some might play the one that everyone else is playing. But Tony (Fenton) lashed out Joe Chester like nobody’s business. Ray played Roesy quite a lot, for example.”
Interestingly, some Irish radio stations still complain of a dearth of Irish acts in their archives.
“I’ve had calls from several radio stations who say, ‘Can you get your members to send us music, as we’re running out of Irish acts to play’,” insists Keith Johnson, Marketing Manager at the Irish Music Rights Association (IMRO). “Michelle Harding at Clare FM, for example, would say, ‘I’d love to play Irish music, if only they would send us the stuff’. There are plenty of shows, especially on regional stations, that are willing to listen to the music, and if the quality is right, they will give it a play.
“There’s a case for musicians strengthening their hand and convincing radio to try and support Irish acts,” he continues. “It’s not something we do directly, but with regards to the Musician’s Union and various songwriting groups, it’s something they should actively do.”
It's also important to note that Hot Press has generated the support of seven independent radio programmes (including one in England) for the First Cuts demo column, by playlisting Jackie Hayden's Pick of The Fortnight. Also, the next issue of HotPress will contain a free CD of mostly Irish tracks recorded live for Jon Richards on Galway Bay FM. Clearly there are people out there who do care, passionately.
“There has to be an underground, doesn’t there?” concludes Wall. “There has to be accepted mainstream during the day and the rock shows that music fans can appreciate at night.
“In saying that, Turn have released one of the best singles of this year, as have Republic of loose. They should be played as often as James Blunt and U2. If I hear James Blunt one more time, I’m going to break my radio.”