Contemporary Music in Ireland

Contemporary music in Ireland does not get near the attention that the Irish Celtic music does. This is not because it’s not present in the country, but mostly because the Irish traditional music overpowers it.

Popularity

The contemporary music holds no place of popularity not only outside of the country but also with the residents. Those who live in Ireland or grew up there can name plenty of the traditional musicians but are hard-pressed to name any of these that are contemporary music performers.

Why Is Contemporary Music Not Popular?

Some believe it is because those who are involved in this genre of music have not worked at building audiences so they can become more recognised. It needs to be supported and encouraged. It requires the performers to be more proactive in arranging concerts and going on tours. They need to intensify their efforts on marketing themselves. They could have more of a presence in outreach programs to help get their music recognised.

Contemporary Events

There are some events that are becoming more well known that supports Irish contemporary music. A good example is the “Weekend in Eight Colours”.

This is held at the Contemporary Music Centre under Our Tunes. It is a prime example of encouraging the younger generation to enjoy another form of music aside from what is considered to be the traditions.

Not Enough Resources

Another problem that the contemporary music industry in Ireland faces is there are not enough resources to help support them. For example, this form of music is not represented enough in the educational environment.

Support

Those who believe that contemporary music is an important part of Irish entertainment believe it should be supported by other musicians. Also, it should be encouraged through other events like festivals, and the news media should support it more.

Contemporary Musicians

There are several contemporary musicians in Ireland like Concorde and Cash who are making strong efforts to bring more attention to this genre of music. They face the challenge of not being invited to be part of the popular venues like the festivals. In most cases, the venues focus on the traditional music of Ireland.

Encouraging Entrepreneurship

One solution may be to encourage the younger contemporary musicians and those that compose this type of music to be more creative in their marketing. They need to put pressure on the national media to recognise them as being part of the Irish culture in music.

The responsibility to get this type of music more known lies mostly with those within it. If they do this, then they have an excellent chance of becoming a popular genre of music in Ireland. Not to take the place of traditional music but to become an important part of the music of Ireland on the whole.