PlayIrish will cease broadcasting on Patrick’s Day
In 2019, the digital music station PlayIrish was launched to showcase Irish music and Irish music only.
Available online and through the Irish Radioplayer platform, it broadcast a non-stop programme of Irish music without presenters, in an effort to give Irish music more airplay than it was receiving on FM stations, which are more dictated by global streaming services.
This week, after Patrick’s Day to be exact, the station will cease broadcasting for good when it will play the best of PlayIrish – the top 50 songs aired since launch, combined with top 10 most-played artists on the station.
The station, launched in April 2019, was established as a not-for-profit venture by IASCA (The Irish Association of Songwriters, Composers & Authors), and has been run by its founders with overheads covered by third party commercial funding.
After reaching almost 100,000 listeners across territories beyond Ireland including the UK, Germany, the US and Russia. 85% of the music was not played anywhere else and the station gave exposure to over 1,200 new Irish artists..
Speaking of the decision, IASCA’s Sinéad Troy said,
“Sadly and with much regret we have decided to come off air. The difficulties the Irish music industry and Irish artists have faced in the last twelve months have already been well documented. The three of us involved in the initiative station from launch have kept the station going even though the small amount of funding we secured from the commercial sector dried up in September last. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved over the 24 months on air. We’ve provided national and global exposure for brilliant Irish artists and music, beyond the mainstream, which is just not getting the recognition it deserves. Unfortunately, it is impossible to continue this initiative without even minimal sectoral funding.”
