Radio chief changes his tune on acts
It's the biggest volte-face by RTE since they had to bring Evelyn Cusack back by popular demand.
Head of 2FM John Clarke has made a dramatic U-turn on his stance in the mid-Nineties on playing Irish music on the national airwaves -- it appears he has gone from being completely unsupportive of Irish music to becoming the veritable champion of homegrown talent.
It appears that Clarke wasn't always as fond as he claimed last week of helping out the struggling Irish acts.
This Fifth Column reporter has uncovered previous comments made to a US magazine in which he said that it is not RTE's job to subsidise homegrown Irish talent.
Clarke told the US Billboard music magazine in the mid-Nineties, "We're up against all the other commercial stations . . . We play what sells. We're not here to dev elop young Irish talent."
But when this reporter put his old quotes to him, he said the promotion of Irish music was a top priority of 2FM and that the station spends hundreds of thousands of euro on studio sessions and broadcasts from Oxegen and Electric Picnic to do just that.
On top of that, the 2FM 2more 2tour, he said, brought six Irish bands to 20,000 fans at venues across the country and to many more on air.
Fair play. But he declined to explain why his policy had changed so drastically, only saying that his comments were made in an interview 12 years ago.
"As regards RTE 2FM's encouragement of Irish talent, any listener knows that the station regularly plays music by popular Irish bands, lesser known bands and new talent," said Clarke.
"Recent Irish artists on the playlist included Snow Patrol, Stellar Sounds, The Thrills, Paddy Casey, Ash, Fred, Aslan and Mundy. Examples of live and acoustic sessions include Paddy Casey, Duke Special and Republic of Loose."
However, figures from Nielsen Music Control, which monitors airplay on 40 radio stations across Ireland, suggests Irish radio in general could be more supportive.
The top 10 tunes currently enjoying heaviest rotation are all by international stars, such as Mika and Enrique Iglesias. Fergie's single Big Boys Don't Cry was played 541 times last week, while Damien Rice's Dogs was aired only 29 times in total.
Critics believe that lack of airplay is the reason why albums by Dolores O'Riordan and Andrea Corr bombed.
Daragh Byrne, commercial director of Channel 6, which has earned a reputation for promoting homegrown talent, said, "There are many reasons why an album will flop, but lack of airplay is definitely a factor. If listeners don't get a chance to hear the music, they won't buy it."
Angela Dorgan, co-organiser of Hard Working Class Heroes, a festival of emerging indigenous music, said it can be a vicious circle for those trying make it in the music industry in this country.
"Radio stations will only play what sells, but radio play creates sales. You get Irish bands that are being lauded abroad and they can't get arrested here," she said.
