PROC Music Conference Review

18th Nov 2008

PROC Music Conference Review
Danny Elbow

To continually keep Cork in national entertainment news it is essential that we, in Cork, have great bands who make a big impact on the international music industry - thereby finding yet another way to tell the world about Cork (and annoy everybody else).

Last Saturday the Peoples Republic of Cork and First Music Contact (based in Dublin but thankfully run by one of our own, Angela Dorgan) brought five music industry professionals to Cork to speak to local musicians, bands and producers.

The aim was to purge the often fantasy driven notions and fluffy ideas about the business that congregate in musician's heads and to replace them with real information to help steer Cork acts towards the realities of the business.

Easier said than done of course but each panellist gave the large audience at the Pavilion a realistic incite into their own occupation, their experiences in it and in particular how new bands and songwriters should tailor their entire package to get noticed and heard.

Here are a small selection of some of the swathe of valuable tips Angela and her panel made on the day:

Ashley Keating, renowned for his stick work with arguably the biggest band of all time to emerge from Leeside, The Frank and Walters, was at pains to stress that bands should spend the majority of their time working on their music and nothing else.

On a small but important technical note, the Corkonian also stressed that bands should include track times with or preferably on, their CDs so he can decide whether he can squeeze it in before, for example, the news and sport on his Sunday night show on Red FM. Little things it seems can make or break precious airplay.

Ben Leahy runs a publishing company in London with clients such as UK chart toppers The Ting Tings on his books. He began by explaining that the publishing business is now a lucrative way for artists to make money in the face of plummeting revenues from album and single sales.

Publishers think up of lots of clever ways to make money for bands by selling their music to the likes of ad agencies and film companies to use in their television productions. Get your song onto the latest mobile phone or alcohol advert and it could be worth the same as selling a few thousand CDs. And undoubtedly far less work!

Ben was at pains to stress to bands that despite receiving demos in flashy envelopes, with elaborate cover artwork and occasionally personal gifts he is only interested in what is on the CD - especially the first three tracks. In other words, don't spend two weeks recording your three best songs and then another two months deciding on artwork.

Alison Curtis

Alison Curtis is originally from Canada but has been living and working on Irish radio for almost ten years so she has spent an almost worryingly large amount of time opening band demo packages and listening to an enormous amount of material. Some good. Some awful.

Her Last Splash Show, now nightly, on Today FM is where Alison gets to break the latest Irish bands and her advice mirrored Ben Leahy's regarding fancy demo packages - just don't bother. If the tunes don't cut the mustard you're wasting your time with everything else. And, by the way, she finds when people send her edible treats along with a CD "really creepy". You have been warned!

Another top tip from the young presenter was for bands to set up a playlist and put their own song in between some of their current favourite tunes. When their pride and joy hits the speakers they should ask themselves if it really "stands up" next to the rest.

Bands hand their demos to the panelists after the conference.

If you're honest with yourself then you might have to go back to the drawing board (or recording studio) few times before it does but there should be no rush.

An early trip to London for Ashley's Frank and Walters was a big lesson for the Cork band. At a showcase the Leesiders were taken aback by the pace and professionalism of their London rivals. "By the time we were setup (they were only a three piece) the other bands would be half way through their sets so that was a major learning experience for us".

Highlighting that one of the three major music hubs in the world was only an hour's flight away he strongly recommended that bands visit London to see up-and-coming acts in the city to gain a few reality lessons.

Keith Johnson from the Irish Music Rights Organisation was also on hand to deliver some solid advice to the audience on royalties, rights and rip-offs. Along with Ben Leahy he warned bands to be very wary of dodgy promotion agencies who claim they will showcase their demos to the industry in return for a substantial fee.

This is merely a snippet from the event but any bands who need advice should turn to the conference's chairperson Angela Dorgan and her fantastic organisation that provides free information and advice to Irish bands and songwriters. Whether it's finding out where's best to record or access to free legal advice her organisation is just a click away at: firstmusiccontact.com


With acts like Mick Flannery recently hitting the top ten, Fred receiving rave reviews for their most recent album and The Franks due to release more material soon, Cork's music scene is healthy but we, as Corkonians must ensure that it continues to thrive.

At the root of this conference was the desire to ensure Cork's music scene thrives, not only locally but nationally and internationally because ultimately, like our sporting success, a Cork acts' success will have a wealth of positive kickbacks and benefits for the city and county that stem far beyond the music industry.

If you would like to make a comment or suggestion about the PROC Music Conference 2008 we would be delighted to hear your feedback at music@peoplesrepublicofcork.com or publically on the forum (this will not guarantee a reponse) by clicking here

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