Is the irish music scene dead?

PaulBrewer

Simon Maher wrote: »

Hi Paul,

The quick answer is no! We would get dozens of demos/unsigned releases in on a weekly basis to Phantom. The ones that are 96k mp3 burned on to a CD with nothing written on it go in the bin first and then the sorting starts.

Its a real shame when something that is a good song is ruined by dreadful production or mixing or the final mastered version sounds horrible. We have no problem as I mentioned above slotting new acts in between million sellers but they have to sound sonically good.

Radio output is quite heavily processed and compressed anyway, so from a recording point of view, nice simple production is best. Master it, stick it through a broadcast plugin and see how it sounds. If it sounds good, send it in and if it doesnt, start again!

Cheers,
Simon

Simon, may I rob your post and re-post it in the Music Prod Forum?

neonoranges

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Good Points NeonOranges. There never was and probably will be significant opportunities here as Ireland is so small.

If you take a four piece band and a manager that's 5 wages to be knocked out before anything happens.

Taking it that their income from records will probably be nonexistent unless they do a 'The Squipt' on it their only income is live.

So to knock even €25k each a year out of it would be a major achievement locally allowing for the expense of gigging too.

The upside is that as music promotion is now more Netcentric one could argue that there are more international opportunities than ever (not implying there are many!)

Tom Robinson on BBC 6music's 'Introducing' program does a great job of doing just that and they're surprisingly listenable programs.

Don't the Beeb, or one of the UK stations sponsor a Baby Band tour too something similar to that NME tour?

I love BBC 6Music radio and am a supporter of Rte's 2XM which is essentially a state sponsored Pirate (at the moment anyway -if they'll excuse me saying so) - they've no significant budget yet but I was thinking it could be an ideal vehicle for a New Band Show ..... lets see what happens.

However all these ideas can only work if there's a supply of New Bands to support them ..... which takes us back to my original point.

hi Paul, i wouldn't even reduce it down to pay.... alot of bands starting out will work there bollox of and end up paying to play for a long time.....
bbc introducing also isn't just limited to Tom robinson, theres different dj's show casing bands from different parts of the country, i think tom does a nationwide show?? its a pretty big thing at the moment in the beeb.... Glastonbury also has affiliated introducing stages.

HouseHippo

miju wrote: »

All I'll say on that one is that the sponsors pulling out was not due to a bad Irish music scene. It was to do with certain people thought thinkin they were the dogs proverbials and rightly got slapped back into place

Really don't want to get started on HWCH but it is a great example of why the Irish music scene as gone completely tits up with regards to an actual proper independent industry here.

Yeah thats what i was saying....greed as usual ya know

ZakAttak

The Village venue makes more money out of comedy gigs then it does out of music. There are more people are attending these gigs then there are going to concerts. Some of them are going as part of corporate bookings (work-nights out), but the fact remains they're a bigger draw.

Sport; I've had many debates about this with fellow music lovers and I'm still convinced that the increased number of major sporting events in Ireland, coupled with the increase in Irish people attending events abroad (mainly due to a better financial situation) has meant that many music events (other than the big summer festivals) have suffered.

Years ago you would have to wait months for your favourite foreign based band to play here. Nowadays theres a chance they'll be playing within a few weeks, and soon after that there will be another favourite band of yours playing. Irish music fans are saving they're money to see those bands rather than see small Irish bands. It wasn't always like this, sometimes people ended up seeing bands they didn't really like because there was nowhere else to go.

11811

I wouldn't say its dead, but needs a good swift kick up the ass! Its bad when you ask someone from outside the country who a good Irish band are and they the Script!:eek: Anyway there are quite a few genuinely talented and hard working bands out there, but from my experience it can be soul-destroying trying to make it there, its seems so hard to get gigs in Ireland for original artists, unless you want to pay the venue for the pleasure of having you..
While there is some support for local music in the cities, bands from smaller towns I'm sure struggle to get both gigs and their music played.
Also I think some more support for original Irish music from our national broadcasters wont go amiss, throwing on the Coronas and FLA dosnt quite cut it. Some independent stations (Phantom, Red Fm) are good for this but don't get quite the same coverage.

stateofflux

its dieing...and its not because of a lack of unsigned talent....the reasons are

a) there are dozens of big international acts playing here every week so irish people are spoiled...so its very difficult for a band to get any sort of following when they are playing eamonn dorans and there are 5 big signed bands playing olympia, vicar st, academy, ambassador etc on the same night....there is no real loyalty for this reason......

b)shows like nightshift on channel 6 getting pulled off the air...their is no shows apart from small slots on rte (den tv , last broadcast)that showcases unsigned bands on tv ...in the end no exposure = no scene

c) phantom FM DOES showcase a lot of unsigned talent which is more than (apart from 2fm) any of the top ten radio stations do....sorry but today FM does **** all....

d) zero risk taking by major labels...look at the recent signings...blizzards, corona's...these are very blue chip signings based on a proven boring snow patrol formula.......

PaulBrewer

stateofflux wrote: »

its dieing...and its not because of a lack of unsigned talent....the reasons are

a) there are dozens of big international acts playing here every week so irish people are spoiled...so its very difficult for a band to get any sort of following when they are playing eamonn dorans and there are 5 big signed bands playing olympia, vicar st, academy, ambassador etc on the same night....there is no real loyalty for this reason......

b)shows like nightshift on channel 6 getting pulled off the air...their is no shows apart from small slots on rte (den tv , last broadcast)that showcases unsigned bands on tv ...in the end no exposure = no scene

c) phantom FM DOES showcase a lot of unsigned talent which is more than (apart from 2fm) any of the top ten radio stations do....sorry but today FM does **** all....

d) zero risk taking by major labels...look at the recent signings...blizzards, corona's...these are very blue chip signings based on a proven boring snow patrol formula.......

Good Points - ultimately you're saying local bands need to be 'better' ?

stateofflux

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Good Points - ultimately you're saying local bands need to be 'better' ?

hmmm not really...i think even if you are the greatest band in the universe...in dublin without money behind you...you could be playing to 2 people or less forever....

money talks and bull**** walks.....put it this way...i work a litlle bit in pr and i know all publications in ireland and uk tell you this when you inquire about advertising... "when the money hits our bank account we will give you a review --- the quality and size of the review will be proportionate to the amount of money you give us".....this is a fact.

the same goes for radio...as much as i like some irish dj's.....most of thier playlist is dictated by who is paying...e.g. sony have a new bloc party single released....it HAS to be playing x number of times.....even if a dj wanted to repeatedly play an unsigned act (i mean say 5 times a day)....he could'nt....unless they are paying the radio station.....

at the core of things having no money and no loyalty from fans is the reason why bands like the chalets had to split up......not enough people gave a stuff because there is a massive concentration of international acts playing every week to go to instead.......can anyone name an irish band in the last 3 years that built up a fanbase like say the arctic monkeys...and got signed and very successful.??...i can't

el_tiddlero

There's 2 arguments happening here i think..

one seems to relate to the lack of massive international commercial success stories from Irish bands that people like for their music. To be fair - like them or hate them Stateofflux - The Frames are the band you're talking about. They built up a base around the country and then went international - all the way to the oscars in fact.

The other argument is that local bands are being done out by international acts.. I'm not sure how far that is true. For example, my band recently played on the same night as Kings of Leon and several other big acts, however, because we're a different animal, it made no difference to the number of people we got through the door. I think you'll find that most uinsigned bands that run their own gigs make enough at them to be able to afford to run another one and maybe after a while, put together a record.
For most people, that's the extent of their ambition, and rightly so. Of course anyone would love to jet off around the world on tour, but the reality of it is that very, very few acts will ever get to do that.. I for one, would be happy to play a gig every couple of months and put out records when we get the chance. If i do that, then it's a dream fulfilled, regardless of whether success of acclaim comes from it or not.

I think it's unfair to call a scene dead when there's so much productivity and talent out there - ok, it's not all over your radio, it's not on in the big massive venues, and you might have to work a little to find out about it, but guess what, that almost makes it better. It's self-contained and overflowing with cool things to listen to and to go and see. There's plenty of websites/freesheet mags that cover Irish unsigned - there's a good number of radio shows (online and on real radio) that play Irish unsigned music, mp3 hugger does great compilations of unsigned music, nialler9 always has a podcast on the go with irish acts on it - ok it's not mainstream media, but when was the last time you heard ANYTHING, Irish or otherwise, on mainstream radio that you felt was worthwhile??

I don't know, i guess you can bang on about how the "industry" here doesn't support our local acts, but then you see initiatives like Richter Collective getting in there and doing it themselves - that's the way forward, whether you want to support/believe or not is a different story. I'll be listening to my high quality Irish music and getting my live music kicks for a fiver while you guys continue this needless and counterproductive debate.

[/rant]

smackbunnybaby

i used to think the irish scene was dead.

the problem was i was looking in the wrong areas.

i havent found boards.ie to have particularly good threads on irish bands (this is in the amount of time i have been on this board)

in the few years i have been looking at thumped.com* i have learned so much about the irish scene and how much talent is out there.

it has been mentioned that Richter Collective are doing great things. Organised Ideas and Out on a Limb have great bands on their rosters.

I could list loads of bands here, but i think a lot of people are generally a bit lazy when it comes to irish music. it's out there, every night! i dont know what it is, but i think people have this sort of idea that as its a band from a different country it's better than local talent.
Guys, this isnt a League of Ireland versus English Premier League debate we are having where one is clearly better than the other.

Maybe the irish scene is dying....but it's not the bands fault for sure.
it's our fault and the media's fault. it costs something like 50+ or 60+ to see people like Coldplay, Snow Patrol Kings of Leon play. mediocre bands at best.
that money could get you in 5 or 6 irish gigs.

there is so much wrong with the media, record labels and promoters wanting to make a quick buck instead of discovering new bands. as stateofflux already said money talks in this business.

i really dont know where my argument is going, i think it just pains me to see threads like this, when really it shouldnt be the case at all.


* people on boards think thumped is pretentious and vice versa (boards are geeks), but whatever, it is great for finding out about all types of music and bands in ireland. i dont want this thread to descend into a meaningless fight over which board is better. both have their merits

ZakAttak

you see initiatives like Richter Collective getting in there and doing it themselves - that's the way forward,

==> The internet and sites such as myspace, bebo, etc. are a great tool in promoting anyone's band; but they only go so far. After this a band needs a substantial amount of investment to bring them up to the next level (i.e. major international act). Record companies have proven over the last few years that they're here to stay, if they were all doomed I think they would have dissappeared by now.

I was listening to Dara O'Brian the other day and he said that the 'edginess' of Ireland has gone; we don't have the poverty,conflict and distinct culture that used to be of fascination to foreign countries- he maintains this is the reason why its more difficult for Irish comedians to make it now and why comedians of Arabic descent are enjoying much success at the moment.

Irish bands in the past took much influence from our own cultural music, now they mimic what is happening in England- not that this didn't happen in the past, but in the past bands had a certain amount of variety in their catalogue.

People just aren't interested in Ireland anymore; can you imagine the coronas doing a song like 'sunday bloody sunday'? Not that I think U2 are deadly or anything, but the emotions of that song was of fascination to foreign cultures.

_sparkie_

so what do you guys think young bands should do to get going?

PaulBrewer

_sparkie_ wrote: »

so what do you guys think young bands should do to get going?

This might sound like an ole timer chiming in (which it is) but 'Be Good' is a splendid starting point ....
It's a first principle that a lot of bands try to skip.
This means playing ALL the time.

In Ye Olde Days there was a built in Shyte Filter in music which was can a band play together and by that I don't mean everyone landing on the beat together (though I have a preference for that myself) If you couldn't that was it - game over - even supposedly sloppy bands like The Clash rehearsed all the time. Most bands I know of would shyt themselves if they had to play together in a recording studio.

'But' you say '..with recording technology being what it is today even a Bad Band can sound reasonable'

That's true but is someone else's or actually something else's (the computer's) homogenous workaround 'reasonable'.

Also 'Reasonable' ain't worth the DVD it's stored on.

The opposite of that is the equally boring No Fi / Lo Fi approach which also ends up with a certain homogeny.

So, what to do?

If we might reference History and after all, that is the point of history, it's clear that the real bands that are successful have at least one thing in common.

That is they are good NOW.

They enjoy music NOW, whether it's in the rehearsal room and the mates party in the house, touring shyteholes etc.

Whilst there's always an eye on the next rung a lot of bands/artists I interact with are still on the -

Getting Signed,
Getting Big,
Getting Rich,

buzz.

With reference to ye olde days again, that was a virtually impossible dream when the music biz was wedged with money.

And now, you really are a dullard if that's the way you want to live your life because, all evidence suggests, you're doomed to failure.

Enjoy your Music Now, by all means dream, but not at the expense of what you have at present - that may well be as good as it gets.

corkstudent

It's dead in terms of diversity, yes. Ireland in general is a homogenous ****hole these days. If you want to set up a band that's not a particular kind of music like METAL, pub rock or some faux indie outfit, it's going to be bloody tough. The interest just isn't there. Something about the modern Irish mentality is just so apathetic and that's a big cause of this.

Even the bands that are good never make it big, and tend to fade away altogether. There's been no really great bands coming out of Ireland for years now. At least with all the ****e in the UK they still at least have some good acts that get deals.

corkstudent

music has never been more accessible , good bands should prosper with or without a "scene" for them to hang onto. just look at how many crap bands got albums released on the coat tails of the "brit-pop" era.

This attitude is the problem to begin with. Obviously, something is missing that's causing a lack of good bands, so maybe they can't prosper without a "scene". Even the bands you look at from the 80s who complain about how they were the only ones doing anything, chances are most of them had mates doing something similar; there was a scene, it was just very early on, which can be an exciting thing. Moreover there was a creative spark there that isn't there anymore. I don't think in this day and age ands can survive well without a scene, but there are no real scenes anymore either.

Music being more "accessible" is the problem. I hate to say it, but the Internet, Myspace, ruined music. Whereas before record companies might hear something special in some random act like Joy Division, internet popularity is becoming more and more driving force, and internet popularity is the worst kind. People will mindlessly roll in to check out the lastest "Hot" stuff.

Someone said earlier that the music business isn't signing acts that sound like the latest hip act - what are you smoking? How many acts are there out there that are that godawful british faux-indie ****e? There's too much celebration of being "common" in music. I like that the charts here in the UK are more british than american at least, but it's not a huge improvement when you have crap like Scouting for Girls and the Wombats or whatever they call themselves.

The music execs need to move away from grabbing popular acts off myspace or it's only going to get worse. It's much harder to become popular online because in real life, if you keep working at it(which most bands don't which is why they don't get signed), there's a very good chance SOMEONE will find your music funky and sign you. But the internet and new mediums, not just sites like Myspace but the attitude it represents, has made everything more systematic. Bands can't make it on creative drive alone. The people who really really wnat to be in a band and spread their music and have a creative heart are less and less the ones that end up on the radio. It's more down to luck and how much of the current trend you're riding. Of course adding ****loads of people on Myspace is a big boost, but that's a terrible way, high tolerance for repetition should not be something that helps you make it in the business that needs less repetitive drivel.

It's great what Phantom FM does, but I get the feeling they're a bit of a lone soldier. We need to write more and more to radio shows and TV shows complaining they don't showcase enough "out there" music, and convince them there's a market for it.

There is amazing music out there, but you're kidding yourself if you think there's as much as there used to be, even underground, and that it has any real chance of making it en masse.

af_thefragile

I think we all should stop blaming the record labels and radio stations for not giving unsigned bands enough exposure.
Cuz the fact is that we ourselves are too lazy to do anything.
For most bands marketing and publicity means setting up a myspace account and telling your friends about your gigs.
This is not gonna work and the Irish music scene is not gonna get any better until bands themselves start to take the initiative to start marketing themselves and establishing a good scene. Yes it takes money, yes it takes time, effort and most importantly co-operation of unsigned bands to work together to support fellow local acts to grow together in what is, and i say it is a dying music scene.

I love gigs and i'm always looking for good gigs to go to but i rarely go to any local gigs. Why? cuz firstly most of the local bands i know of sound ****e. Its the same old generic crap they keep putting out. There's a serious lack of depth in bands nowdays. I wanna listen to something i can compare to Josh Ritter or Radiohead. But all i find is clones of Oasis, Arctic Monkies and worse. Even if the music is good, which a lot of times if i'm feeling generous i can live with it, then the lyrics sound like they were written by a 12yr old.
Second, if there is a band out there with depth and skill, a band thats apart from the generic ****e, they're too lazy to properly publicise themselves and very few people know about them, hence i don't go to their gigs cuz well, i don't know they exist!

So whats the problem? Bands take a lot for granted these days. Thats the problem! They think they can set up a band and some promoter will find them, he'll get them gigs, he'll put them on the radio, some AnR guy will then pick them up and they can get signed. Thats not gonna happen. We all know most promoters are greedy and well, again ****e. And neither will the radio station give you enough airplay, nor will you find as many gigs. Even if you find gigs, you'll regularly find yourself playing to a crowd of 10 people.

So how can we change this? Hmm, its very hypothetical at this stage but bands need to stop being lazy start working harder. They need to realise they to do much more than setting up a myspace and telling their friends about their gigs to get bigger. Bands need to get together and cooperate to set up the scene themselves. It all needs to work as one big body. From people who go around writing articles for websites to people who DJ on the radio to the bands themselves. Maybe for a start someone could set up a proper professional looking youtube radio channel covering all the latest happenings in the Irish scene. Like MTV but exclusively for the Irish music scene. On maybe youtube where people who're interested in Irish bands can checkout whats happening in the Irish music scene.

Well, thats just an idea. There's a lot more the bands can collectively do.
But then again, with the rise of the internet there is no quality control for bands and their music anymore. This is quite a big problem as you've all mentioned, to get to the good stuff you need to filter through a lot of crap and no one can be bothered to do that!
What we need is someone who can be bothered to do just exactly that. Pick out the good bands with potential and bring them out to the rest of us.
All Ireland needs is a David Bowie or a Radiohead and that'll kick start a good scene!

corkstudent

I think we all should stop blaming the record labels and radio stations for not giving unsigned bands enough exposure.
Cuz the fact is that we ourselves are too lazy to do anything.

The problem is that it's too difficult to know what to do these days, it's too random and poorly defined. It's hard to get noticed.

And where are artists meant to get this money? They're probably already spending on gear which is more important to the actual music... and a lot can't even afford that. Many of the most creative musicians are often also poor musicians. It should be enough just to keep playing venues and distributing your music online, making a bit of noise.

More colloboration would be great but the problem is that everyone is quite unfriendly these days. They need places to meet and that doesn't exist for many alternative acts.

PaulBrewer

corkstudent wrote: »

This attitude is the problem to begin with. Obviously, something is missing that's causing a lack of good bands, so maybe they can't prosper without a "scene". Even the bands you look at from the 80s who complain about how they were the only ones doing anything, chances are most of them had mates doing something similar; there was a scene, it was just very early on, which can be an exciting thing. Moreover there was a creative spark there that isn't there anymore. I don't think in this day and age ands can survive well without a scene, but there are no real scenes anymore either.

That's a very good point.

It's always been the Tribe/Scene thing that has driven interesting music from 50s Rock'n'Roll days onwards.

However any scene is like a flower that blooms, sheds it's seeds and dies, if you'll excuse my poetry. It then needs to be replaced. That Feckin' Singer Songwriter weed is a hardy annual though! :rolleyes:

I disagree that MySpace etc has ruined Music, all the internet does is makes the playground bigger, there are now lots of other guys who will come and take the ball unless you do something about it (excuse poetry part deux)

I know as a Casual Producer who interacts with other engineer/producers both here and in the UK that MySpace is a fabulous place to check out and meet bands.

Check out The Evora www.myspace.com/theevora from Dublin
and The Lost Levels from the UK both of whom we've hooked up with.

The Evora tracks we recorded and The Lost Levels we're about to do a remix for having hooked up with them through hearing them on Tom Robinson's BBC 6Music show 'Introducing' - that could never have happened in the past.

www.myspace.com/thelostlevels

Phantom has been mentioned - RTE's new digital station 2XM also offers possibilities once there is a listenership.


It's only doom and gloom if you head down the wrong road ...

PaulBrewer

corkstudent wrote: »

They need places to meet and that doesn't exist for many alternative acts.

Here! MySpace! get on with it!!

Delirium

Personally I don't think that it is. Almost all the live music I go to is Irish bands/performers. Partly because to see other acts generally requires more expensive tickets and a roadtrip to Dublin.

From my own personal experience, the problem I find at a lot of gigs is a lack of people showing up. I've been to gigs here where the total number of members in the bands playing has outnumbered the audience:eek: And I'm about bands with 4 members max in each band.

I've brought friends to gigs of Irish bands and it was a struggle to do that much. But when a band, with MTV coverage and a much larger fee to see them, performs in Ireland its a completely different story.

PaulBrewer

koth wrote: »

I've brought friends to gigs of Irish bands and it was a struggle to do that much. But when a band, with MTV coverage and a much larger fee to see them, performs in Ireland its a completely different story.

However expensive the tickets are doesn't really come into if one REALLY wants to see the band.

One doesn't usually expect much if it's a 5ver in though.

Delirium

PaulBrewer wrote: »

However expensive the tickets are doesn't really come into if one REALLY wants to see the band.

True, but I thinking more of the 'wouldn't mind checking this band out' category. Just find it strange that a kind of reverse logic is almost in place with seeing bands at times. If a local band is playing for a fiver, the band can't be any good??

One doesn't usually expect much if it's a 5ver in.

Have been to gigs for that amount and seen bands that are every bit as good as bands charging 10 times that.

PaulBrewer

That's not my point -

If as you say a band has MTV , Press etc and there's a Buzz about there's a minimum expectation - namely -

There'll be a crowd,
there'll be a good PA and crew and some form of complimentary light show and they'll play the songs that they're known for.

One doesn't expect that necessarily for the hypothetical 5ver band.

In other words you're Fiver is at more of a risk that the 35 or whatever.

That is how I'd imagine a lot of people look at those two situations.

That isn't to say there can't be great gigs on the cheap!

Delirium

PaulBrewer wrote: »

That's not my point -

If as you say a band has MTV , Press etc and there's a Buzz about there's a minimum expectation - namely -

There'll be a crowd,
there'll be a good PA and crew and some form of complimentary light show and they'll play the songs that they're known for.

One doesn't expect that necessarily for the hypothetical 5ver band.

In other words you're Fiver is at more of a risk that the 35 or whatever.

That is how I'd imagine a lot of people look at those two situations.

That isn't to say there can't be great gigs on the cheap!

Cheers for that, paul. Get where your coming from now.
Does make sense what you're saying about the expectation factor.

Suppose what I'm trying to figure is why aren't people willing to risk the €5 for the unknown quantity. For myself its always been a case of 'well it only cost me a €5'. And some of the gigs have been disasters:)

PaulBrewer

koth wrote: »

Suppose what I'm trying to figure is why aren't people willing to risk the €5 for the unknown quantity. For myself its always been a case of 'well it only cost me a €5'. And some of the gigs have been disasters:)

It's human nature - That's why people drink the same beer in the same pubs every night etc etc.

Delirium

PaulBrewer wrote: »

It's human nature - That's why people drink the same beer in the same pubs every night etc etc.

But with most bands that I've seen at the €5 side of things, have myspace or some other site with tracks up. So people have the opportunity to check the bands music out before spending any money on the gig. And many times has the music online persuaded me to go to one of those gigs.

PaulBrewer

Ha!
I'm just listening to Tom Robinson's bbc6music 'Introducing' show now and he just said , in reference to new bands -

'You just have to be good, everything else falls into place then' (or very similar)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/tom_robinsons_introducing/

af_thefragile

A note about myspace:

Myspace is both the best and the worst thing that happened to music in the early 21st century.

For the best, it has given loads of musicians an outlet for their music for people to check out. Its free, it doesn't take much effort and its pretty easy. Its also great for getting to know other bands and interacting with your fans.
Also we're no longer depending on MTV and the likes to tell us what to.

For the worst, Myspace has resulted in bands no longer working hard enough to sound good to be able to get regular gigs as now all they need to do to get herd is set up a myspace account and whore it to the world.
Before band's had to work hard to be able to sound tight to get gigs and there was also a good filter between the good bands and the crap bands as the crap bands would get rejected by venue owners and they wouldn't get gigs. This would also result in the crap bands working harder to sound better to be able to get gigs and well get anywhere. Which was a good thing. It makes the bands work much harder at not just their music but also their live act resulting in much better overall music and a lively music scene.
Also bands spend more time and effort writing good music and perfecting their live act rather than buying tons of expensive gear and getting that "professional" studio quality sound to put on their myspace. Many great guitarists started out on cheap 100 quid guitars. From Rory Gallagher to Andy Summers to Joe Strummer. Now days all the guitarists want Gibson guitars and Mesa amps!

Also before myspace people had to go to gigs to check out the local music as that was the only way to check out local rising bands. Also a lot of people preferred to go to gigs rather than night clubs as there were good loads of decent bands playing around (unlike today). People are not even that interested in going to jazz bars anymore.
Now myspace has resulted in people not needing to go to gigs anymore to check out local bands. Results in less people attending gigs and the music scene fading away.


To sum up, Myspace has killed the local scene!
But i think i have a idea for a rescue package...



Though one thing i have to say is that you can't just blame myspace here. A lot of it also goes to the local radio channels who don't do anything to promote local bands. They're filled with mainstream music and hence no one has a clue about whats going on in the local scene. And also no one cares. All they want is listen to good music which the radio channels give them plenty of and to unwind there's always plenty of night clubs rather than gig venues. There are very few followers of the local bands who make up a part of the local music scene left. They're the only ones who care about local bands. The majority just want good music which they can get from the radio.
Phantom FM is making an effort to get the local scene more herd but honestly its also full of mainstream music and the few local bands it gives airtime to sound like cheaper versions of those mainstream songs. Just crapper.

Was it always like this? I don't exactly know. Though from what i know, back through the 60's till the mid 90's a lot more people used to go to gig venues than night clubs which used to keep a music scene well and alive. Venues in London, LA, NY, Nashville etc. were breeding grounds for uprising bands. Dublin wasn't too bad either. There was Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, Stiff Little Fingers (well, not exactly Dublin), should i mention U2? though a lot of them gained a lot of publicity outside Ireland, they still maintained a good Irish music scene. Unlike today. We don't have anymore Irish bands that can stir up a good scene. But all it takes is a Rory Gallagher or Sex Pistols!

mada999

nope its not dead...

the rags, bipolar empire and the dolldrums....quality right there..

kicks the áss off those fontanels, dirty epics and coronas cráp...

Frankiestylee

There are plenty of music scenes in Ireland. My problem with some of them is they're a bit too insular. Bands playing gigs with the same few bands and patting each other on the back. If you think you're a big rockstar and your music is great because a few other bands say-so, well, that's hardly going to help your attitude or your progress.

Some people can feel they're in-touch with the Irish unsigned scene because they're involved in one scene and one scene alone. Great that they've an interest in local music, but without exposing fans to new scenes the scenes just kinda stagnate.

I've the feeling that most bands that've made it in Ireland of late avoided getting stuck in a scene.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking genres here, there are a fair few little scenes doing the whole faux-indie for example.

If bands could just get outside their comfort zones and try playing with strange and different bands then I'm sure they'd progress and develop.

Dunno who said it above, but all Ireland really needs is one big credible breakthrough act and it'll lead the way for the rest.
It's one reason I don't really understand all the naysaying against FLA, regardless of what you think of the music etc, they're definitely starting to draw attention to Ireland as more than just the home of U2 and a load of singer/songwriters.

As for myspace... if you use it wisely and have the tunes it's an excellent tune. It can turn that risky €5 into an absolute bargain. You're probably better off not having a myspace page if you don't have good enough music to put on it and attract people to your band.