Irish Recorded Music Association

Last updated

Irish Recorded Music Association
TypeNon-profit
Location
ServicesMedia attention, direct-appeal campaigns, research
FieldsProtecting music rights
Key people
Sean Murtagh (Anti-Piracy Dept), Alex Callow (IRMA Membership), Willie Kavanagh (Chairman IRMA), Pat Creed (Warner Music Ireland), Mark Crossingham (Universal Music Ireland), Annette Donnelly (Sony Music Ireland) & Peter Kenny (RMG)
Website irma.ie

The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. [1] It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music charts for Ireland.

Contents

Membership

Only Irish companies can become members of the IRMA. All members pay a yearly fee based on company size. Currently, the IRMA has 51 member companies.[ citation needed ]

Board member companies

The recording companies and other music-related companies that are on the IRMA board are: [2]

Goals and activities

IRMA operates to promote and protect the welfare and interests of the Irish record industry. Specifically, IRMA is involved in lobbying to protect and enhance the interest of member companies and lobby to prevent illegal downloading of music content from local and international artists. [3]

IRMA also compiles and manages Ireland's official music charts. These include: Top 100 Albums, Top 100 Singles, Top 10 Classical Albums, Top 10 Dance Singles, Top 20 Multi-Artist Compilation Albums, Top 30 Videos, Top 20 DVDs and Top 10 Music DVDS.

In the mid-1990s IRMA presented the IRMA Music Awards. These have been replaced by the annual music awards show Meteor Ireland Music Awards.

In the past IRMA has organised "The IRMA Honours," an awards ceremony which honours the life work of Ireland's leading musicians and people who have influenced the Irish music industry. Past recipients include Bob Geldof, [4] Larry Gogan and Christy Moore.

On 12 April 2005, the association began to take legal action against "serial filesharers" in Ireland who illegally distribute music on the Internet. On 15 November 2005, the IRMA began "Phase II" of its plan to battle filesharing.

On 12 June 2013, IRMA secured an Order of the High Court to block access to The Pirate Bay to all internet users in Ireland. [5]

Filesharing controversy

IRMA and Eircom reached an agreement over file sharing which uses a third-party organisation to monitor Eircom users for downloading of infringing music. [6] The agreed system was reported to use a "three-strikes-and-you're-out" system. [6] The agreement was criticised by Digital Rights Ireland and IrelandOffline. [6] [7]

The association sent solicitors' letters to several organisations, including hosting service Blacknight Solutions, whose MD, Michele Neylon, made the copy sent to his company publicly available on the company site. [8] Although Blacknight Solutions is not an ISP they still received the letter, which stated in the event of a positive response to this letter it is proposed to make practical arrangements with Blacknight of a like nature to those made with Eircom. [8] [9]

Protests against some actions of IRMA are being organised by Digital Rights Ireland, as well as Blackout Ireland. [9]

The IRMA trust

In 1997 the IRMA set up a trust with Phonographic Performance Ireland, with the aim to enhance the opportunities for young people who want to pursue a career in music. The trust's main initiative is the Instrument Bank, which provides music instruments to young people, particularly to young people who live in disadvantaged communities throughout Ireland.

Awards

Since July, 2021 IRMA has awarded the number one selling album and single of the week with a specially commissioned award designed by NCAD design students Katie O’Brien and Kate McKenna. The trophy design – the number one and a musical note entwined – was made using brushed aluminium and black recycled acrylic. [10]

This award is different from the awards show presented by IRMA in the 1990s. The IRMA Music Awards were discontinued in the late 1990s replaced with the Meteor Ireland Music Awards and later the Choice Music Prize. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eir (telecommunications)</span> Irish telecommunication company

Eircom Limited, trading as Eir, is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to Ireland's former state-owned monopoly telecommunication provider Telecom Éireann and its predecessors, P&T and before the foundation of the state, the telecommunications division of the GPO. It remains the largest telecommunications operator in Ireland and has overseas operations focused on the business and corporate telecom markets in the United Kingdom. The company was in majority state ownership until 1999, when it was privatised through a flotation on the Irish and New York Stock Exchanges.

Meteor Mobile Communications Limited was a GSM and UMTS mobile telecommunications company in Ireland. They operated a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS(HSPA+) and LTE cellular communications network under licence from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), and were the third entrant in the market, after Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Irish telecoms network Eir, having been purchased for €420m in 2005. Meteor was the only Irish owned mobile operator in Ireland. Meteor once issued new numbers with the prefix code 085. Since the introduction of full mobile number portability in Ireland, access codes have become less relevant as mobile telephone users may now retain their mobile telephone numbers when moving between mobile network operators. As a result, Meteor customers could have numbers starting with the codes 083, 085, 086, 087, or 089.

A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the IRMA Ireland Music Awards held in the 1990s. Promoted by MCD Productions, the ceremony at which these accolades were bestowed upon worthy recipients was referred to colloquially as The Meteors, though occasionally also by its full title.

Recorded Music NZ is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Music NZ is open to any owner of recorded music rights operating in New Zealand, inclusive of major labels, independent labels and self-released artists. Recorded Music NZ has over 2000 rights-holders.

The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically each day from retailers' EPOS systems. All major record shops, digital retailers and streaming services contribute to the chart, accounting for over 95% of the market. A new chart is compiled and released to the public by the Irish Recorded Music Association on Friday at noon. Each chart is dated with the "week-ending" date of the previous Thursday. The singles chart was first published on 1 October 1962, and covered the top ten singles of the previous week by record label shipments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blizzards</span> Irish band

The Blizzards are an Irish band from Mullingar in County Westmeath. They were formed by Niall Breslin in late 2004, and also feature Dec Murphy (drums), Justin Ryan, Anthony Doran, Louize Carroll (bass) and Aidan Lynch (keyboards). They have achieved multiple platinum record sales and have won numerous awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westlife discography</span>

Irish boy band Westlife have released twelve studio albums, sixteen video albums, one live album, three karaoke albums, thirty-eight singles, twenty-one promotional singles, nine compilation albums and fifty-four music videos. Formed on 3 July 1998, the group was made up of singers Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden. The band was signed under Simon Cowell, Clive Davis, and Jordan Jay and under record labels' BMG, S Records, Arista Records, Sony BMG, Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records from 1998 to 2012 and currently on Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records from 2018. The last four members remained active until their last live concert performance in the Europe's third largest stadium Croke Park on 23 June 2012 and have reunited on 3 October 2018 for new music and tour. Based on the British Phonographic Industry certifications, the group have sold more than 32 million records and videos in the United Kingdom alone across their 20-year career–8.8 million singles, 12.5 million albums and 1.5 million videos. Their biggest selling album is their first Greatest Hits compilation, followed by Coast to Coast, with seven of their albums selling one million copies or more. Their biggest selling video is "Where Dreams Come True", which has sold 240,000 copies to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coronas</span> Irish rock band from Dublin

The Coronas are an Irish rock band that originated in Dublin. They release their music by their own independent record label, 3ú Records, and are based between Dublin and London. They have released seven studio albums, Heroes or Ghosts (2007), Tony Was an Ex-Con (2009), Closer to You (2011) The Long Way (2014), Trust The Wire (2017), True Love Waits (2020) Time Stopped (2022).

Arts and media industry trade groups, such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), strongly oppose and attempt to prevent copyright infringement through file sharing. The organizations particularly target the distribution of files via the Internet using peer-to-peer software. Efforts by trade groups to curb such infringement have been unsuccessful with chronic, widespread and rampant infringement continuing largely unabated.

<i>Back Home</i> (Westlife album) 2007 studio album by Westlife

Back Home is the eighth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 5 November 2007 through Syco Music, Sony Music and RCA Records. The album was produced by Steve Mac, Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Rami Yacoub, who also produced some of the group's previous material. Back Home was the group's final album before their temporary break from music in 2008.

Hotline.ie is recognised as the established illegal internet content reporting service in Ireland, especially for reporting child sexual abuse images. The service provides a secure and confidential environment where the public can anonymously report material they suspect to be illegal which they may encounter when using the Internet. The reports can be made using the secure https section within the website. Alternatively, reports can be made by email or by phone.

<i>The Script</i> (album) 2008 studio album by The Script

The Script is the debut album by Irish pop rock trio the Script, which was released in the Republic of Ireland on 8 August 2008 and was released in the UK on 11 August 2008 by Phonogenic Records. Following success in the Republic of Ireland, the album was released elsewhere in Europe in September 2008. The album topped the UK charts and peaked at number 64 on the US Billboard 200 on 4 March 2010. The album was nominated for a Choice Music Prize-Irish Album of the Year 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Aloud discography</span>

The discography of British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, twenty-four singles, one promotional single, two live albums, one remix album, two box sets, eleven video albums and twenty-five music videos.

Internet censorship in Ireland is a controversial issue with the introduction of a graduated response policy in 2008 followed by an effort to block certain file sharing sites starting in February 2009. Beyond these issues there are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Irish law provides for freedom of speech including for members of the press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system act jointly to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicane discography</span>

The discography of British electronic musician Chicane consists of nine studio albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays and forty singles. His debut single, "Offshore" reached number fourteen in the United Kingdom and number five on the United States dance chart in 1996. The subsequent debut album, Far from the Maddening Crowds, peaked at number forty-nine in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wham! discography</span>

English musical duo Wham! released three studio albums, four compilation albums, four video albums, 12 music videos, 14 singles, two remix albums and two documentary films.

<i>JLS</i> (album) 2009 studio album by JLS

JLS is the debut studio album by English boy band JLS. It was released in the UK on 9 November 2009 by Epic Records. It was preceded by the lead single, "Beat Again" on 13 July 2009. The album debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland. It has been certified four times platinum in the UK, where it was the sixth best-selling album of 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olly Murs discography</span>

English recording artist Olly Murs has released seven studio albums, twenty-five singles and twenty one music videos on recording labels Epic and Sony subsidiary Syco. Olly rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after being a contestant on The X Factor during its sixth series, ultimately finishing in second place on 12 December 2009. During his time on the show, Murs appeared on the number-one charity single "You Are Not Alone" alongside the other finalists. His debut single, "Please Don't Let Me Go" was released on 27 August 2010—where it became his second number-one single and first as a solo artist. The accompanying album, Olly Murs was released on 26 November, where it debuted at number two, and was preceded by the number four single "Thinking of Me" on 19 November. The singles "Heart on My Sleeve" and "Busy" were also released from the album on 27 March and 27 May 2011—peaking at number twenty and forty-five in the UK respectively.

Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo, is an English singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countries blocking access to The Pirate Bay</span>

This is a list of countries where at least one internet service provider (ISP) formerly or currently censors the popular file sharing website The Pirate Bay (TPB).

References

  1. "IRMA – About Us". irma.ie.
  2. "IRMA – About Us". IRMA. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. "Is censorship the order of the day in protecting the music industry?". Independent.ie .
  4. ">> IRMA << Welcome to our site >>". irma.ie. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010.
  5. "High Court Gives Irish ISPs 30 Days To Block The Pirate Bay". TorrentFreak .
  6. 1 2 3 Specialists to police music downloads, John Collins, The Irish Times, 6 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  7. Lobby group calls for stop to censorship plans, Marie Boran, Silicon Republic, 26 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  8. 1 2 "IRMA warning letter goes public" Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine , Ralph Averbuch, ENN.ie, 26 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  9. 1 2 "Music industry pushing for internet filtering as well as 'three strikes' – what can you do about it?" Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. .ie, Broadsheet (31 July 2022). "IRMA La Douce" . Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  11. "Spice Girls Arrive in Ireland". RTÉ.ie .