Skip to main content

Month: April 2016

IFPI’s Global Music Report 2016 Premium Section | Available Now

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in Featured Articles, News.

IFPI’s essential in-depth statistical guide to the global music business is now available following publication of the complete two-section
IFPI Global Music Report 2016.

The complete report includes the 86 page ‘Data and Analysis’ section, formerly called ‘Recording Industry in Numbers’ (RIN), containing comprehensive data for nearly 50 territories and in-depth analysis by format and sector.

The full report, containing both the ‘State of the Industry’ overview and this newly-released ‘Data and Analysis’ section is available to purchase now.

Key highlights of the 2016 full report include:

Revenue streams. Detailed analysis of the industry’s diverse and evolving revenue streams, as digital becomes the primary revenue stream for recorded music, overtaking sales of physical formats for the first time. Contains an overview of the top contributors to global streaming growth and a breakdown of global digital revenues for 2015.

  • Market trends. Comprehensive data on global, regional and national music market trends, focusing both on 2015 and past years. Total industry revenues grew 3.2 per cent to US$ 15.0 billion, leading to the industry’s first significant year-on-year growth in nearly two decades.
  • National markets – national data for 49 territories including:
    • Data splits for physical, digital, performance rights and synchronisation for 2011-2015;
    • Detailed breakdown of revenues within the digital segment for 2011-2015;
    • Economic and digital indicators
  • Regional markets. Detailed summaries of market performance in regional markets. Latin America was, for the fifth consecutive year, the region with the highest level of growth in recorded music revenues (+11.8 per cent) with digital revenues rising by 44.5 per cent, more than four times the national average.
  • Focus on physical formats. The ‘Data and Analysis’ section looks at the performance of the physical market in different territories around the world, including vinyl’s continued growth and historic volume data for global physical formats 1973-2015.
  • Global charts. In addition to the top 10 albums and digital singles published in the ‘State of the Industry’ section of the report, the premium ‘Data and Analysis’ section includes a more complete listing of the top titles of 2015 with the full top 50 global albums chart and the top 20 global digital singles chart.

Adrian Strain, Director of Communications for IFPI, says: “The Global Music Report is the must-have publication for anyone needing to understand the state of today’s global music business. It provides unrivalled and comprehensive data and information and is the authoritative reference book for the industry globally.”

grm 2016

Bonnie’s ‘I’m Out’ set for May 20th release

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

Bonnie-300x300Bonnie’s long-awaited new single ‘I’m Out’ co-written with iconic Irish singer-songwriter Don Mescall will be released on 20th May 2016 (pre-orders from 13th May).

Bonnie is no stranger to the Irish Showbiz world. Aged just nine, she joined her first girl-band Lady Nada. They would go on to support Westlife on their Face-To-Face and Love tours, and X-Factor winner Shayne Ward on his debut Irish tour. In 2007 Bonnie and Lady Nada performed centre-stage at the annual Childline Cheerios concert in Dublin.

“I grew up in a family full of people who are singers, dancers, acting, radio, all this stuff so I don’t think it’s too surprising that it rubbed off on me or I gravitated towards it.” Bonnie (Apr 2016).

After leaving the group, Bonnie decided to pursue a solo career in music, studying music, songwriting and dance at the Ballyfermot School of Music. She would also study further dance at the Broadway Dance Centre in New York.

Bonnie’s new single, ‘I’m Out’ is a co-write with songwriter Don Mescall, who has written in the past for artists as diverse as Backstreet Boys, Lonestar, Rascal Flatts, Ronan Keating, Aslan, Shane Filan and Marina Kaye. Collectively Don Mescall’s songs have generated sales of over 16 million worldwide.

Don also played a hand in producing the song, along with Anders Bagge in Sweden, who has produced hits for Janet Jackson, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion, Santana etc. Bagge was awarded Best Pop Song at the BMI London Awards for producing Janet Jackson’s “All Nite (Don’t Stop).

‘I’m Out’ was produced at the Dreamhill Studios in Stockholm, Sweden and the Pepper Pot Studios in London, England.

‘I’m Out’ debuted on the Tracy Clifford Show on RTE 2FM last week, and received it’s first TV airplay on The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTE1 on Saturday evening. The accompanying video has received over 69k hits on YouTube in 5 days.

For further info, check out www.bonnieofficialmusic.com

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedin

Jack O’Rourke wins prestigious International Songwriting Competition

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

JackSinE2Cork songwriter Jack O’Rourke has joined the likes of Gotya, The Band Perry, Amanda Palmer and Mick Flannery by becoming a winner in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition. Jack’s song ‘Silence’ received first place in the Lyrics Category, judged by industry legends such as Tom Waits and Bill Withers.

Two of Jack’s other tracks ‘Shining for You’ and ‘I’ll Forget You in the Morning’ also placed well in the Performance Category and Folk/Singer Songwriter Category.

Speaking about Jack’s entries, Founder of the International Songwriting Competition, Candace Avery said, “The judges were really impressed with all of Jack’s entries. The melodies, the craft, and particularly the narrative of the songs really impressed our judging panel.”

Held annually in Nashville, the International Songwriting Competition is considered to be the most prestigious songwriting competition in the world. Speaking about the win, Jack said, “It’s a massive achievement to win this prize. There were over 80,000 entries from around the world for this competition so to think that I came first in any category makes me feel really proud.”

Jack’s new single ‘Dreamcatcher’ is due for release on April 29th.

Live Dates:

Dublin – Academy 2 Friday May 6th

Limerick – Dolans (upstairs) Sunday May 8th

Cork – Connolly’s of Leap Thursday May 12th  

 

Overhead, The Albatross Announce The Release Of Their Single And Album

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

Overhead, The Albatross have just announced the release of their new single ‘Indie Rose’, ahead of  their debut album ‘Learning to Growl’.

Learning To Growl will be released on May 13th, but you can pre-order a copy of the album on their Bandcamp for €10.00.

The six piece have been on the Irish music scene for some time now, playing to packed out rooms across some of Dublin’s most famous music venues.

Due to play at Canadian Music Week, in Toronto, in May. Overhead, The Albatross have already sold out their listening party on April 7th, in the Workman’s Club, Dublin. Due to a high demand the band have decided to add another date on Wednesday, 6th of April, at the same venue.

You can buy tickets for the gig through the Workman’s website.

The band are already on the line up for Castlepalooza, and you can guarantee they will be playing a lot more festivals in Ireland, this summer!

You can follow Overhead, The Albatross on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.

New album, single & Irish Tour in the offing for Joey Ryan

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

 Irish multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Joey Ryan has been performing and writing music for the last decade. Currently based in Cork City, Ireland Ryan is hard at work finishing off his second record of original material with producer Christian Best. The new album ‘Fall Through the Night’ will be released in Ireland in May 1st 2016, with an Irish tour to follow in support before Ryan takes the record to Europe.

Originally hailing from Wexford, Ireland, Ryan has always found himself drawn to music. Picking up guitar at the age of seven, Ryan was brought up on a diet of Dylan, Springsteen, Billy Joel and Nina Simone to name a few from his parents collection which were always playing in the home.

At twenty years of age, Ryan self released his first album Morning Will Come Soon in 2012 to great acclaim. The following year was spent touring Ireland in support of this album which saw support slots to artists such as Jack L, Mick Flannery and Duke Special. Following on with the success of this campaign, The Redefine EP was released in 2014 under the guise of The Joey Ryan Trio. Lead single Stay Strong was released to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Ireland, and topped the iTunes Rock chart on the first day of its release. Not one to sit around, the Joey Ryan Trio did an extensive tour of Ireland in support of this single which included a support slot with internationally acclaimed band Bastille in Debarras Folkclub.

Ryan’s sound could be best described as having an atmospheric rock based aesthetic, whilst also incorporating acoustic tones. Ryan writes his guitar orientated music drawing from his influences which range from Springsteen to The National, Ryan Adams to Jeff Buckely and Tom Waits to Bon Iver. The last five years have seen Ryan broaden his touring circuit into Europe, with three tours of Germany completed in the last two years alone, as well as appearances in the UK, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

MAY:
6th – Sky and ground, Wexford
14th – Greyhound, Kilkee 19th – Coughlans Live, Cork
26ht – South Main Social, Wexford 28th -Debarras, Clonakilty

www.joeyryansite.com / www.facebook.com/JoeyRyanSongs/

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterest

Tiny Magnetic Pets release “The NATO Alphabet” EP on May 6th

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

 The NATO Alphabet is the second Tiny Magnetic Pets EP after the critically-acclaimed “Stalingrad” EP from last year which saw the band get some international exposure.

An eventful 2015 saw them play their first UK & German shows at Electro London in uber cool Hoxton & Düsseldorf – the home of Kraftwerk. Tiny Magnetic Pets received a warm welcome from German fans when they opened for NEU! legend Michael Rother at the Electri-City festival. They kicked off 2016 in their hometown with a support slot for none other than ex-Kraftwerk member, Wolfgang Flür.

Tiny Magnetic Pets are currently being championed by Rusty Egan, legendary founder/DJ of The Blitz Club & Visage member. The band features regularly on his radio show & he dropped his mash-up of TMP’s “Control Me” to thousands of Spandau Ballet fans on their recent European tour. OMD’s Andy McCluskey can also be counted among their fans, recently posting on OMD’s social media: “Andy recommends the album “Return of the Tiny Magnetic Pets” by Tiny Magnetic Pets for all lovers of distinctive electronic music”.

TMP are an indie synth band & have been receiving huge support from the burgeoning UK Synth Wave scene and regularly feature on the scene’s radio shows which has led to more airplay in the US, Canada & Austrilia in 2016.

‘Everybody Knows’ was written after their trip to Düsseldorf where they met Peter Hook from New Order – and it shows! ‘Klangfarben’ – A night-drive through the Electri-City in a vintage Mercedes-Benz. ‘Not Giving In’ – A song about not giving up on someone who has given up on themselves. ‘No One At The Safe House’ – Some late-night Cold War Film Noir of love lost.
‘2 Delta Bravo’ – A coded tribute – with love, admiration & thanks.
Tiny Magnetic Pets return to England & Germany later this year for more festival dates in Düsseldorf, Hannover, Exeter & London plus gigs in Belfast & Dublin TBA.

www.facebook.com/pages/Tiny-Magnetic-Pets/69597715797
www.twitter.com/tinymagneticpet
www.youtube.com/tinymagneticpets

Pulse College Unveils New BA (Hons) Degree in Music & Audio Technology

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in Industry News.

As a complement to its highly successful BA (Hons) in Music Production Degree and its current Advanced Diploma in Audio & Music Technology, Pulse College, in collaboration with Griffith College, announced a new bachelor’s degree in Audio & Music Technology (BAAMT). This innovative program will encompass the creative and technical aspects of audio recording and sound design.

“The BA (Hons) in Audio & Music Technology is an exciting new degree from Pulse College. Our 25 years of experience at the leading edge of the industry has gone into the development of this programme. Embracing innovative new technologies, we will equip students with the skills and confidence needed for a career in this dynamic industry.” – Tony Perrey, Pulse College President & Head of Music Department

The new BAAMT program reflects the current and evolving nature of music technology in the digital age, where the job description of contemporary audio professional includes a wide range of activities including composition, studio recording and engineering, live sound, post production and music programming. The inaugural class will enroll in September 2016 and the course is currently open for Direct Application via Pulse College.

This forward looking curriculum, along with Pulse College’s Dublin city centre location within the historic Windmill Lane Recording Studios, a center for the music recording industry in Ireland, makes Pulse College an ideal place to study music technology.

“This new degree represents a natural evolution of our Audio & Music Technology course; a course we’ve delivered since the beginning of Pulse College. We’ve seen first-hand the power of creating a highly collaborative community at Pulse College,” said Head of Programme, Niall McMonagle. “Adding students from this new BA programme into the community will greatly enhance the experience for all our students

More information is at http://www.pulsecollege.eu/audio/ba-hons-degree-audio-music-technology/

Dylan Tighe’s New Album ‘Wabi – Sabi Soul’

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

Wabi-Sabi Soul is the title of Dylan Tighe’s second album due for release on April 15th, but it also serves as an apt description of the sound, and spirit, of the Dubliner’s new album.

Produced by Dylan Tighe and Sean Coleman, Wabi-Sabi Soul is Dylan’s vision in deeply personal song and lyrics of how the tenets of ‘wabi-sabi’ – a Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection – can be applied to the search for his personal re-birth. The album will be available as a digital download exclusively from dylantighe.bandcamp.com, price €10.

While Dylan’s moving debut release ‘Record’ in 2014 sought to “reclaim and re-frame” his experience of mental health challenges, Wabi-Sabi Soul is an uplifting, philosophical and at times tongue-in-cheek album about dealing with love, death, and re-birth by embracing, and finding beauty in, imperfection and transience.“Fuck perfection as an ideal/ don’t think just feel/ I’m jaded/ of being anybody other than myself” – these lines from the track ‘Fuck perfection’ sum up Dylan’s defiant new philosophy of life and to the creation of this new album, the core of which was recorded over 4 days, as opposed to the 4 year sporadic recording of his debut.

With the one-track gapless mix, Dylan invites the listener to experience this 13 song-cycle as variations on and intersections of 3 fundamental life questions – love, death and re-birth – and Dylan’s reckoning with these themes. The album begins with death and ends with re-birth – ‘Ducasse (for my grandmother)’ a meditation on the death of Dylan’s granny which poignantly opens the album, and closes with ‘Northern Soul’ a powerful manifesto of re-birth.

“With this album I wanted to embrace my own imperfections, come to terms with and celebrate my own ‘Wabi-Sabi Soul’ and to create a new sound for this new departure”. Dylan channels a range of influences including Curtis Mayfield, the tropical dub of Lee Scratch Perry & the existential Brazilian soul of Tim Maia, while getting back to his roots as a formidable, eloquent lead guitar player taking influence from Hendrix and BB King, as well as summoning the 80’s sounds of his childhood via his Casio MT-140 keyboard, which Dylan found in his wardrobe & on which he wrote some of the albums songs. His wry and literary lyrics draw inspiration from figures such as John Lennon, Bill Callahan and Leonard Cohen, as well as from poets such as Michael Hartnett.

The album also embraces the beauty of the artefacts inherent to analogue tape and the subtle imperfections which arise from recording ‘live’ and which give the album its force and buoyancy. Over half the tracks retain the original vocal take. The core of the album – the guitar, voice and Casio keyboard of Dylan Tighe, the Sax and bass clarinet of Seán Mac Erlaine, and the drums of Conor Murray, were recorded live to analogue tape in Orphan Recording Studio with engineer and co-producer Sean Coleman. Digital overdubs, and analogue tape effects were added, echoing the album’s essence of the re-purposing of the past for a new future. The recording was augmented with the legendary bass of veteran musician Garvan Gallagher, the rhodes, wurlitzer and hammond of jazz keyboardist Darragh O’Kelly and the pedal steel of Travis Lyon. (For full album credits, song-titles and lyrics see www.dylantighe.bandcamp.com)

The album features samples from the voice of Henry Miller, the 1979 Irish mass of Pope John Paul II, and opening the album, Samuel Beckett on gong. The gapless mix (reminiscent of classic gapless albums such as Dark Side of the Moon, but going even further by not making tracks extractable individually) & careful sequencing of the album offers a formal parallel for the interlinking of the albums themes. “I wanted to resist the conventional digital disruption of the album form & invite people to experience the album as I intend it – as a cohesive body of work”.

While the release of the album as a one-track gapless mix of 13 songs pushes the boundaries of how an album is presented, Dylan will also create 2 experimental and immersive World- Premiere events which further expand and enhance how songs and lyrics are experienced. The album will be launched alongside both an exclusive 5.1 surround sound Listening event with lyrics in 3D in the Lighthouse Cinema on April 26th at 7.30pm and a Live Headphones concert in the main of library DLR Lexicon on April 29th at 8pm – more details on both events to be announced shortly.

The development of the album and the World Premiere events have been funded through a bursary and music project award from the Arts Council of Ireland.

www.dylantighe.bandcamp.com

You can follow Dylan Tighe on Facebook and Twitter

Irish hit songwriter Brendan Graham writes special song for Queen’s Birthday

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

Katherine Jenkins’ new album will be released internationally on Decca on April 22nd. Released to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday, ‘Celebration’ includes 8 newly recorded tracks including a stunning new composition “This Mother’s Heart”, a special version of ‘God Save The Queen’, and ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ (most popular song in the year of the Queen’s birth). “This Mother’s Heart”, the lead track on the album was composed by Brendan Graham, composer of smash hit ‘You Raise Me Up’. As well as being dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II, the song is also a celebration of Katherine’s own new role as a mother to her baby daughter Aaliyah.

Talking to IMRO today Brendan outlines the background to how the track came about. “Katherine and producer Jon Cohen for Decca called me in to write the lyrics. Huge honour to be asked…and I also had the opportunity to attend at the recording in Air Studios in February which incidentally happened to coincide – the week of the Ireland vs Wales rugby game. Katherine wore a Welsh colours red dress…and I brought her an Irish team rugby ball!” 

He continued, “I had the honour of YRMu being performed by Westlife for the special concert in the Convention Centre Dublin during the Queen’s historic State Visit to Ireland. So, when asked to write this lyric to celebrate her 90th Birthday, I couldn’t have been more happy to do so and in this very special commemorative year in Ireland, to musically reach back across the Irish Sea…and perhaps with this song, in a very small way to further the links between our two countries.”

Katherine presents this album in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday this spring and will be playing a prominent part in the UK’s celebration of the Queen including a headline performance at the ITV Concert for the Queen’s Birthday on 15th May, which will be attended by the royal family.

Her 11th studio album includes a stunning rendition of David Bowies’ ‘Heroes’ plus best loved songs from her catalogue including ‘I Vow to Thee My Country’, ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ to create the ultimate celebration soundtrack.

Left Behind: Songs Of The 1916 Widows

Written by Press Officer on . Posted in News.

 Left Behind is a new collection of songs to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. Drawing on the experiences of the wives of prominent rebel leaders, O’Connor and O’Rourke have created a unique suite of compositions that offer an emotional, human perspective on a narrative that is too often told in baldly male heroic terms.

“So much of our engagement with history is purely political, and so rarely we allow ourselves to read between the lines to find human realities…” – Simon O’Connor.

Left Behind: Songs of the 1916 Widows by Simon O’Connor and Michelle O’Rourke is now available to pre-order via the Ergodos webshopRecorded in the beautiful acoustic of St. Peter’s Church, Drogheda, the album features O’Rourke and O’Connor on vocals and piano/guitar respectively, as well as Dara Higgins (bass) and John Dermody (percussion) from The Jimmy Cake, and the Robinson Panoramic Quartet, a dynamic Dublin-based string ensemble. These players bring a dramatic energy to the retelling of the stories of wives of prominent rebel leaders in the 1916 Rising, including Maud Gonne, Grace and Muriel Gifford, Agnes Mallin and others.

The album will launch on 26 April – pre-order your copy now!

On 27 April, in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Michelle O’Rourke will perform the songs with full orchestral arrangements by Simon O’Connor, performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra (conductor John O’Brien) and featuring inter-song narration by celebrated actor Olwen Fouéré.

Book your tickets to the National Concert Hall performance here – Simply enter the code ‘LeftBehind‘ in the NCH booking form to receive 10% off your tickets.

You can also hear Simon O’Connor and historian Sinéad McCoole discussing the songs with Kathy Sheridan on the Irish Times Women’s Podcast here.

Left Behind was recently presented as part of Ireland2016’s state commemorations on International Women’s Day. The performance was attended by President Michael D. Higgins, and Tánaiste Joan Burton. It received a standing ovation, and was described as “magnificent” in The Irish Times. Left Behind was also presented at RTÉ Reflecting the Rising events on Easter Monday.

Check out O’Connor and O’Rourke talking about the project on RTÉ lyric fm here.

A national tour is currently underway – full dates here

About IMRO

Music Creators

Music Users

Supporting Music

Keep up to date with IMRO news and events

Modus | Ireland best web agency Dublin, Ireland.

Please select login