PLAYIRISH Radio to cease broadcast on March 17th 2021
PLAYIRISH, the all-Irish digital music station, established to showcase Irish artists and the Irish music industry overall, is to cease broadcasting after St Patrick’s Day.
PLAYIRISH was created to provide a global outlet for original Irish music to gain exposure, especially at a time when much of our national music tastes are being dictated by global streaming platforms.
The station, launched in April 2019, was established as a not-for-profit venture by IASCA (The Irish Association of Songwriters, Composers & Authors), and has been run by its founders with overheads covered by third party commercial funding.
It broadcast music on a 24-hour basis across a variety of platforms including its own website, the Irish Radioplayer, the international TuneIn digital platform, as well as via smart speakers.
Speaking of the decision, IASCA’s Sinéad Troy said, “Sadly and with much regret we have decided to come off air. The difficulties the Irish music industry and Irish artists have faced in the last twelve months have already been well documented. The three of us involved in the initiative station from launch have kept the station going even though the small amount of funding we secured from the commercial sector dried up in September last. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved over the 24 months on air. We’ve provided national and global exposure for brilliant Irish artists and music, beyond the mainstream, which is just not getting the recognition it deserves. Unfortunately, it is impossible to continue this initiative without even minimal sectoral funding.”
In the twenty-four months since launch, PLAYIRISH reached almost 100,000 listeners across territories beyond Ireland including the UK, Germany, the US and Russia. 85% of the music was not played anywhere else and the station gave exposure to over 1,200 new Irish artists.
“We’ve had great moral and social media support from many Irish artists across all genres. PLAYIRISH exposure has, we believe, meant a lot to many Irish artists, who are struggling to get their world-class music heard”, according to Troy.
The station’s last day of broadcasting will be fittingly, March 17th when it will play the best of PlayIrish - the top 50 songs aired since launch, combined with top 10 most-played artists on the station.
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