Following a launch in Dublin in April, Music Alliance Ireland/Comhaontas Ceoil na hÉireann, a new group of national music organisations and companies, will host its second public meeting at the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival on 10 July.

The group was formed at the beginning of the pandemic to establish a collective voice for the music sector and has been involved in a number of advocacy campaigns since.

The current members are the Contemporary Music Centre, Crash Ensemble, Diatribe Records, Improvised Music Company, The Journal of Music, Kirkos Ensemble, Music Network and Trad Ireland/Traid Éireann. The group meets ten times a year and is open to new members.

At the meeting in Clonmel, which will take place in the Junction Dome at 1pm, Chairperson Toner Quinn and Project Manager Neva Elliott will speak about the aims of the Alliance and the work undertaken so far. This will be followed by an open discussion on current issues in the music sector in Ireland

Commenting on the meeting, Quinn said:

Our launch meeting at the New Music Dublin festival in April was extremely useful in obtaining feedback from the music sector on the aims and objectives of Music Alliance Ireland. We’re delighted to have our second meeting at the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival and look forward to hearing the views of more artists and those involved in music and exploring how the Alliance can best support the sector into the future. All are welcome.

Six aims
Music Alliance Ireland was initiated in the spring of 2020 by Elliott, former CEO of Crash Ensemble, and Aoife Concannon of Improvised Music Company in partnership with the Arts Office of Dublin City Council. The group has since developed six main aims, as follows:

1. To establish a national network and voice for music organisations and musicians in Ireland;
2. To advocate for support and policies for music at a national level;
3. To work for the establishment of a music hub (a space for rehearsal, collaboration, offices, equipment, recording, storage and performance) in Dublin and equivalent spaces in other centres around Ireland;
4. To campaign for proper pay for musicians;
5. To further the provision for music from Ireland in Irish broadcasting and media; and
6. To support the development of the Irish independent record label sector.

The group has already published a number of submissions advocating for the music sector, including submissions to the Arts Council’s music policy, the Future of Media Commission, RTÉ Lyric FM, the Dublin City Council Cultural Infrastructural Study, the Dublin City Development Plan, and the Basic Income for the Arts pilot.

For further details, and to sign up to the group’s newsletter, visit https://musicallianceireland.ie. 

Listen back to an interview with Music Alliance Ireland Chairperson Toner Quinn below: