Irish Unsigned Band Petition

Hallo Spaceman

Silver Addictive have launched a petition to the Arts Council requesting an equal opportunity for Irish unsigned bands to apply for financial support. To date the criteria for grants/ awards and schemes excludes bands from applying for funding, last year the arts council banned outright, bands from applying for the music recording scheme. Every year unsigned bands spend millions on rehearsal rooms/ studio time/ equipment hire/ musical equipment/ venue hire/ transport/ manufacturing/ design/ photography/ Advertising/ sound engineers/ printing, not mention bringing in punters for Bars ect.... you get the point. Please follow the link below and sign the petition. please forward to anyone who would be willing to support Irish unsigned bands. Petition reads as follows:

“Unsigned bands are artists too.”

The Arts Council has received €61 million in funding from the Irish government, an increase of 16% or €8.5 million on last year’s budget. The Arts Council is the sole dispenser of grants and bursaries for the Arts in Ireland. The criteria, however, for all schemes and bursaries exclude one sector of the arts from applying for financial aid, unsigned bands.

Unsigned bands in Ireland are the financial backbone of the Irish music industry, contributing over €120 million a year to the exchequer and to various areas of the music industry.

We, the undersigned wish to petition the Arts Council to review their grants and awards system in 2005 to include this currently excluded sector of the industry. We also want the Arts Council to acknowledge the contribution of unsigned bands to furthering Irish arts by creating bursaries specifically aimed at unsigned bands. To date, these bursaries have catered for individual artists only.


http://www.petitiononline.com/silver04/petition.html

Thank you.
Silver Addictive

Neil_B

Try to keep this one up people!

memaeve

Done and done.
xm

Bluebella

Fair Play! About bloody time someone did something!

Hallo Spaceman

New and easier to remember link:

www.artscouncilpetition.tk

Anyone who is in a band with a mailing list, can you forward the link on?

The more names we get, the better our chances are of fighting for change.

Thanks for your attention and to all who've signed thus far,

Mark

dead air

Just signed it.