On 11th November 2005, I wrote about Kraftwerk’s live album Minimum Maximum and over the course of the next few months, I was bitten by the bug of sharing new music I love with people.
That’s still at the core of what Nialler9 is about – discovering new music still excites me – it has probably kept me emotionally regulated through all the ups and downs of life growing into a small business, scaling up, scaling down after the Big Stop and constantly re-evaluating how to operate.
Any small independent business, journalist or creator knows how tricky it is to navigate and make a living when you’ve to contend with gatekept social media platforms, being at the mercy at algorithms, organic reach, search engine placement and discovery.
Nialler9 could always be doing better but for a niche online music publication who still leads with my own pair of ears and enthusiasm for music, the site has served over 20 million page views to date, a simple act that has become increasingly difficult and fractured over the years – just get someone to read your work on the site it belongs to – as much bigger platforms seek to obfuscate the sources of their results.
I have been blessed to have a wonderful team of people to work with over the years on the editorial team, and Michael McDermott has been the constant ad, sponsorship and brand man over many years now helping me make this a living so thank you Michael (hit him up).
These days, Nialler9 is 95% just me doing all the writing, social posts, site design and graphics etc, and as we face the AI slop problem things aren’t going to get any easier.
To that end my only ask is to considering supporting Nialler9 on Patreon for €6 a month or at least join as a free member. You don’t get to 20 years strong without having to ask people for money unfortunately.
Thank you to all of you who have visited the site, contributed, sponsored, worked with us, subscribed, supported, listened to the podcast, bought a ticket, came to a club night, gig, DJ set or listening event.
Thanks to all who emailed, responded and who discovered new music with us.
The biggest thanks goes to all of the exciting talented musicians, artists and music people who keep me enthused and inspired 20 years later.
To the next 20….
Nialler
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
