The rise of podcasting in the past couple of years has proved a boon to Irish music in particular, especially in light of the relative decline of “specialist programming” on FM radio as that landscape continues to rally for broader listenerships.
Among others, this very parish has kept a podcast going as part of its activities for years, alongside The Point of Everything, No Encore and the on-demand relays of shows like 98FM’s Totally Irish and BBC Radio NI’s Across the Line shows. Even your writer has a podcast, Red on Red, on music in his hometown of Cork (that he would now like to plug shamelessly).
All of these outlets have allowed Irish artists to tell their stories in full, and explore their musical and creative processes for the benefit of a core of Irish music listeners, and yet, while the roles of music industry and creation have been explored variously across these shows, there’s seldom been anything geared specifically at young musicians, especially those operating independently.
Enter Mark G., talismanic frontman of Waterford-based festival faves King Kong Company, whose dayjob involves negotiating the pitfalls and nuances of living as a musician in Ireland. Bringing together a network of contacts and collaborators to talk about the ‘musician condition’, as it were, he’s unveiled the Irish Music Industry podcast, with the first four episodes available in one go now.
“Having spent the last 10 years teaching music students on the BA Music course at WIT, I couldn’t help but feel that many prospective music industry professionals weren’t being provided with a full and frank picture of everything that is involved in making a career in the industry”, says the podcast’s host and producer.
“I began talking to music professionals, musicians, journalists, lawyers, agents and anyone who’d let me bend their ear, and realised that it’s not just new entrant to the music sector who aren’t getting a clear picture of the ins and outs of the music industry in Ireland. Many of us who’ve been working in the sector for years are still unclear about many different aspects of the business side of things.”
The Irish Music Industry Podcast kicks off today. First 4 episodes available now from usual sources & https://t.co/nPU4tW6Wv3. Featuring @wrenreckons, @VivaJerryFish, Lizzie @bitchfalcon, @JohnnyJtf, @DanceKatieKim, @daithimusic & @talldanhegarty #irishmusicparty #podcast #muisc pic.twitter.com/UTPUQRjhXF
— Mark Graham (@IreMusPod) February 18, 2019
The podcast itself takes in a wide range of Irish music industry professionals. Among whom: Jenny Wren, booker for Body & Soul; Jerry Fish, Dan Hegarty of RTÉ 2FM; Katie Kim; Johnny Lappin, music publisher and IMRO founder director; Daithí; Dominic Kelly, entertainment industry accountant; and Lizzie Fitzpatrick, guitarist and growler from Bitch Falcon.
Stream a preview above, and get a listen to the first four episodes now at timi.ie.
