Speech by Shay Hennessy, Cathaoirleach of IMRO at Formal Launch of IMRO Conrad Hotel, Dublin, Ireland Monday, 2nd March, 1998
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasant task this evening to speak to you as Chairman of the Irish Music Rights Organisation on this the occasion of its formal launch, and to share with you my thoughts on this young and dynamic company, which has not only made a major contribution to Irish music by improving the royalty income of its members and, indeed, the members of other societies affiliated with us whose music is performed in this country, but has become involved in advocating and fighting the case for all aspects of music, both nationally and internationally.
It is not so long ago that the mention of the name ‘IMRO’ gave rise to a lot of negative comment.
Things, however, have changed quite dramatically and rapidly - as evidenced by the presence and support of our Taoiseach here this evening.
The reputation that the company now enjoys has been hard fought for and hard won. I can assure you that the quadrupling of the income and the doubling of the membership did not come easy.
I hasten to add, however, that there are over 80 similar organisations throughout the world. The whole songwriting and composing process, as we know it today, would not survive without these societies, who provide this invaluable role of collecting and distributing royalties to those involved in the collective process.
In relation to Ireland, it is those very writers and publishers who have helped to contribute towards the uniqueness of what we call ‘Irish’.
We all know that culture and, in particular, music, as the Taoiseach said earlier, helps to define our identity. This Irish identity is carried to the far ends of the world with the Irish diaspora. I am sure it has not escaped your attention that the musical interlude in James Cameron’s film, ‘Titanic’, relies upon an Irish seisuin. I suppose we could almost say that Irishness, as a brand, has now been truly globalised.
If I could go back for a moment to the origins of IMRO, it was the determination of songwriters, composers and publishers in Ireland to have their own national society which led to the creation of IMRO in 1989.
I think it is only right that the special help and encouragement given by our European colleagues and, in particular, the French society, SACEM, in the person of Jean Loup Tournier, who, I am delighted to say, is here with us tonight, be singled out for his support at a critical time in our development.
Brendan Graham, of course, led the move to independence and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his magnificent leadership and commitment during this period.
I cannot overlook, however, the Trojan work of the other members of the IMRO Board, both present and past, who required a lot of confidence and commitment sailing into such uncharted waters with no guarantee of success at the time.
I am glad to acknowledge this evening that the early pioneering spirit of those Board members, many of whom are here tonight, has been responsible for an organisation that is equal to the very best in the rest of the world.
However, no amount of commitment would have been sufficient to carry off such a feat were it not for the presence of our Chief Executive, Hugh Duffy, his top management team, Eamon Shackleton, Adrian Gaffney and Eoin Colley and the other members of our staff. They were the officers and crew that drove the company, sometimes in the face of fierce opposition.
In fact, it is a tribute to the excellence of these people that IMRO is one of the few organisations throughout the world that has established, albeit after a long fight, harmonious relations with all of the trade bodies and associations representing people who use music in public. On behalf of the Board of Directors I thank you all.
We have never apologised or shied away from our core function of seeking a fair royalty for the use of our members’ music. If music is played, we must be paid. Not only for the joy and pleasure it brings to the listening public but especially for its unique commercial value.
I unhesitatingly acknowledge the fact that we have now become partners with such major bodies as RTE, the independent radio sector, the Hotels Federation, the Licensed Vintners’ Association, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland and the Restaurant Association of Ireland. There have been no free lunches on either side along the way, rather a growing appreciation by all of the need to work together.
I am sure, here tonight, we all greatly welcome the statement by An Taoiseach about the much sought after new Copyright Act. Many things have, indeed, changed over the past 30 years and I suppose there can be no better time than now to introduce new copyright legislation in view of the developments with the GATT Agreement, the new WIPO Treaties and the copyright and intellectual property rights programme being pursued by the European Commission.
In fact, the strengthening of copyright protection by the European Commission is being done not only for commercial and economic reasons, but because it fully appreciates that an increased level of protection is essential to cultural creativity both nationally and within the European Union.
Such cultural creativity has, for some time now, been seen as an essential prerequisite towards closer integration of nations in Europe and the fostering of a European identity. As in other areas, Ireland is ideally situated to make a major contribution to this process.
I mentioned earlier the hard work IMRO has done in the area of the collecting and distributing of royalties in relation to music used in Ireland. IMRO, of course, demands nothing less from other organisations throughout the world who are representing the interests of Irish music in their territories.
We make no apology for seeking full recognition by way of royalty remittances to Ireland from those territories.
Regrettably, we have had to express our deep disappointment at the protection afforded to our members’ rights in some parts of the world. This abysmal protection is not only confined to the performing rights that IMRO administers, but also to the mechanical rights in respect of the sale of records.
We cannot and will not accept such a situation. Some of you will know that we have already, with the full and enthusiastic support of the Irish Government and the European Commission, lodged complaints under the trade barrier regulation in respect of the appalling copyright legislative position in the United States and have received the full endorsement of the Commission who have undertaken to pursue changes in the US Copyright Law under the World Trade Disputes Settlement Procedure.
Despite the fact that we are " a new kid on the block ", we have already campaigned for greater transparency in the way societies transact their business throughout the world. We feel very strongly about how long it takes some of these societies to actually send the money to us and we are hoping, in the short term, to make very definite proposals to the international confederation of performing right societies, CISAC, in Paris, towards this end.
Some of you here tonight, will probably have had the benefit of reading the NESC report on the Irish music industry which was published recently. My abiding impression from that report was the recognition of the absolute necessity of developing a local indigenous record and publishing industry. I now urge my fellow publishers to encourage and educate new young publishers into the field.
It is a fact of life that multinational record companies, and their associated publishing arms, have to prioritise their efforts. The NESC report did, in fact, acknowledge that, in the 80s, all of the 6 major record companies were represented by subsidiaries in Ireland with the principal function of developing the small Irish market as an outlet for international repertoire.
We, in IMRO, however, although respecting that function, have always been keen to encourage local creativity and endeavour and, wherever possible, to develop it internationally.
You will have to forgive me if I appear proud or boastful about IMRO and its achievements, I am deeply proud of IMRO and its achievements.
I think, for the first time, we have, in IMRO, a truly united, indigenous and dynamic music organisation. It is there to serve the interests of all in Irish music and, whether we are at home or abroad, IMRO wears the green jersey.
As I said earlier, IMRO has had difficult times in the past, particularly with some sections of the Irish press. However, we have pragmatically accepted that there is no such thing as ‘bad publicity’. When IMRO’s attempts at licensing musical events in schools were highlighted in an attempt to avoid the payment of royalties, we most certainly attracted a lot of publicity.
I have to frankly admit that during that time we took some heat and even some of our friends expressed reservations about the wisdom of pursuing that matter.
We steadfastly refused to abdicate the responsibilities placed upon us by those whom we represent. We did not compromise.
I can tell you now that, whilst we may not have won many extra friends during that time, our profile increased dramatically as a result of the press coverage. The whole affair had a very positive impact upon our royalty collection activities.
We thank you, therefore, members of the Press, for highlighting the role of IMRO and we look forward to working closely with you today and in the future.
