Totally Irish – The Demise of Irish Music on our Airwaves
It started with a tweet from John Baker confirming that his regular show Totally Irish was to finish on 98FM. What followed was a debate on Twitter by the great and the good about why Irish music is often ignored on our airwaves.
While it is obvious that the majority of radio stations will feature Pop music, why can’t it be Irish Pop? The alternative music shows such as Mystery Train with John Kelly on Lyric FM or Ed Smith on Today FM do feature a lot of homegrown talent, but there is always room for more.
There is often talk of the ‘Canadian Model‘ which ensures that a significant percentage of music played on their radio stations is made in Canada. A similar system is used in other countries including France. While there is often a debate on what makes a musician or band Canadian, it is still a worthwhile idea.
The Canadian model requires:
Radio –
– All radio stations must ensure that 35 percent of the music they air each week is Canadian.
In addition:
– Commercial radio stations must ensure that 35 percent of the music they air between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday,
is Canadian.
– Ethnic radio stations must ensure that at least 7 percent of the music they air each week during ethnic programming periods is Canadian.
Is it about time we adopt something similar here?
You can see just some of the tweets on the topic below…
No More Workhorse 