Presentation to Joint Oireachtas Committee for Culture, Heritage and Irish Language Dublin, 24th March 1998
A Cathaoirleach, Seanadóirí
Tá áthas orm bheith anseo inniu agus tá buíochas orainn gur thabhairt sibh am duinn chuis ceol a phleadh anseo.
Chairman, Senators
I am very glad of the opportunity you have given us to lay out before you the opportunities that lie ahead for Irish music, both in what can be achieved for the music industry and for what the music industry can do for the development of social, cultural and economic fabric of the country.
IMRO is an independent organisation owned by songwriters and their publishers, which was set up in 1995. Prior to that date it was a subsidiary of the Performing Right Society, and it was the realisation by Irish writers and composers that their properties were not being looked after gave rise to the independence issue.
Our public image had always been one of takers in that we are seen by the vast majority of people we come in contact with as people who collect royalties. However, the other side of our business which goes unsung because of its nature is the amount of money which we give to cultural events here in country, about £150,000 per annum, to stimulate the development of new music.
We are also very active in the international field to ensure that Irish writers and creators are properly recompensed for their works which are performed overseas and indeed we acknowledge the support we have got from this Government and the previous Government in the complaint we have lodged with the European Union about the inequality of the American Copyright Law and the way it discriminates against Irish and indeed other ethnic music genres. You will be glad to know that the DG1 which is under the directorship of Sir Leon Britain has fully endorsed our complaint and is taking the matter to the World Trade Dispute Procedures in Geneva.
We are also very conscious that Article 128 of the Maastricht Treaty has for the first time put culture and heritage in the forefront of European Union legislation and to this end Ireland, through IMRO, has with the French, Germans, Spanish and Italians founded the European Music Office which is part financed by the Copyright Societies and the European Commission.
The work of the European Music Office will be explained by my colleague Eamon Shackleton who is its first Vice President, the President is a Spaniard and Eamon is the Vice President.
In addition to the founding countries it now represents most of the European countries and its raison d’être is to stimulate the development and the protection of European music in all its forms and to contribute particularly to a vibrant youth music policy which develops young writers and musicians.
We are glad that the European Union has at last recognised that the European culture must be protected from the American domination and the convergence that has taken place both in terms of the media, i.e. newspapers, radio stations, telecom companies, all coming closer and closer together and leading to a blandness in the output of these multinational conglomerates.
Finally before I hand over to Eamon, we were heartened by the Taoiseach’s recognition at the recent IMRO launch of the importance of songwriters and music creators which he stated "were at the very bedrock of music and I quote without them there simply would be no industry or source of employment. We are truly blessed here in Ireland that so many composers and writers of great talent, the past and the present have given us a unique treasury to interpret and reinterpret for each succeeding generation".
He further went on to state that "in order to counter the globalisation of music which was primarily concerned with market factors, it is essential for us to provide indigenous record companies with opportunities to bring local and traditional music onto the market and he has acknowledged that IMRO has for many years grant aided many hundreds of projects in Ireland in order to simulate this process".
© Hugh Duffy 1998
