irish music feed

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.Media: TV3 to rebrand to Virgin Media Television this August 

As previously announced the TV3 Group will rebrand to Virgin Media Television this August. 

On August 30, TV3 will rebrand to Virgin Media One, 3e to Virgin Media Two and be3 to Virgin Media Three. Each of the channels will incorporate a new on-air identity with possible changes to their schedules. 

3Player is also expected to receive a revamp. Virgin Media will also launch a fourth channel in Ireland - Virgin Media Sports (exclusively available to Virgin Media Ireland customers). 

Today’s #UPFRONT2018 event at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin City gave Virgin Media Ireland the opportunity to reposition its core brands which have over the last 20 years failed to carve out a clear modern Irish identity instead highly dependent on imports from ITV which is often met with regular complaints by Virgin about the dual-funded RTÉ, whilst forgetting it is owned by one of the world’s biggest media companies Liberty Global. 

UPFRONT2018 presented us with a celebration of 20 years since the launch of TV3 (which happens in September), the short video presented us with I’m A Celebrity, The X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent none of which are produced in Ireland. 

Rebrands are costly - rebranding three channels and launching a fourth channel at the same time is a highly ambitious affair and this means the company will have to provide alternatives to what Irish and international broadcasters are already offering Irish viewers in an oversaturated market. Rebrands may also mean initially people tune out before dipping their toes back in and any significant changes to the schedule could be problematic, however, TV3′s dependency on ITV is likely to go unchanged. 

However, VMTV Ireland has confirmed a new Irish drama Blood which will air on Virgin Media One. The new afternoon schedule will see The Six O’Clock Show reduced to a 30-minute show followed by XPOSE at 6.30pm. Virgin News will broadcast at a new time-slot of 8PM following the norm of other European broadcasters. Virgin Media Two will be skewed towards a younger demographic and Virgin Media Three will continue to broadcast old content from British broadcaster ITV. 

Further Irish programming includes a revamped Ireland AM and ‘new’ season’s of Gogglebox Ireland, Ireland’s Got Talent and Living with Lucy.

The new addition to Virgin Media includes a dedicated sports channel - Virgin Media Sports with the latest sports news, local sporting events, and top-class European soccer. The moving sports to a dedicated sports channel will be appreciated by lovers of programming featured on the three existing general entertainment channels as no further interruptions to soaps should occur. Virgin Media Ireland, which acquired the broadcaster in 2015, particularly in sports rights, where it has outbid RTÉ for flagship events such as the Six Nations and the UEFA Champions League. 

THE LOSERS - 

Anyone hoping the rebrand will ensure greater viewing choice, greater quality Irish programming and providing independent companies with broader opportunities to explore new content across Virgin’s multi-media platforms will not be rewarded. 

For now, Virgin Media customers will only have access to Virgin Media Sports.

RTÉ could be threatened by a dedicated sports channel and the further squeezing of advertising across nine existing Irish based channels and with the new addition of Virgin Media Sports could pose problems. 

THE WINNERS -

ITV will continue to rack in the money as Virgin Media continues its dependency on a long-term deal with the British based broadcaster. The lack of Irish content means Virgin Media does not have to spend much on content which means Virgin Media Television can continue to reduce costs and earn millions from advertising revenue each year.

Today’s announcement is an exciting change to a very dull broadcasting landscape in Ireland, however, the rebrand is just another lick of paint mixed with a lack of vision at Virgin Media. 

[irishmusicfeed]

.Media: TV3 Rebrand Still On The Cards and RTÉ to axe News channel

TV3 Group plans on rebranding despite announcing in March the rebrand was off the cards.

The TV3 Group put rumours out last November it planned to rebrand its channels under the Virgin Media branding. However, with changes to the global structure of Liberty Global owner of TV3 Group confirmed the possible rebrand would be delayed in March. 

Managing director Pat Kiely (TV3 Group) stated in a recent interview the company is still committed to this rebrand and the boutique of channels offered by Virgin Media will rebrand in late autumn.

TV3 will become Virgin Media 1, 3e to become Virgin Media 2 and be3 to become Virgin Media 3 changes to the channels will be announced at #UPFRONT2018 launch in late June.

Meanwhile, over at Montrose, RTÉ is going further with its closure of RTÉ News Now; the very much underutilized news channel. The news brand will continue as a digital feature through the very successful app and website, the channel is expected to close. No official closure date has been confirmed by the public broadcaster however, it is unlikely to occur this year. 

RTÉ as confirmed it has requested approval from both the government and Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to launch a one-hour later RTÉ2+1.It is expected this channel would replace RTÉ News Now on Saorview in 2019. 

RTÉ2 has decided to launch a new schedule of major US content this summer which includes the continuation of The Handmaids Tale. 

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.Politics: UK Poll Majority Favour Brexit over keeping Northern Ireland 

A recent poll conducted in the UK indicates voters in Britain would prioritise leaving the EU even if it meant abandoning Northern Ireland. 

More than a third of those polled (36 per cent) said exiting the European Union was a higher priority than keeping Northern Ireland within the UK. Of those surveyed, 29 per cent said retaining Northern Ireland within the UK was more important than Brexit.

Around 22 per cent said neither was important, while the remainder said they did not know which one to prioritise higher.

The YouGov poll, commissioned by radio station LBC, did not survey voters within Northern Ireland. The online poll sampled 1,630 adults living in Great Britain. It was conducted between March 21st and 22nd.

The survey was carried out amid ongoing uncertainty over how the Irish Border will be handled in the final Brexit agreement. It has emerged as the key sticking block in the negotiations, with the UK government and EU at loggerheads over how a free-flowing border can be maintained if the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market.

UK media sources also indicate members of the Tory party are willing to prioritise the union between England, Scotland and Wales and their exit from the EU if it meant aligning Northern Ireland with the EU.

Democratic Unionist MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told LBC he did not think the survey findings were relevant. The poll also found that almost half (48 per cent) of the British public is pessimistic that the UK will be ready to leave the European Union by March 2019. Of those, more than a quarter (26 per cent) were Leave voters.

The option of Northern Ireland aligning itself with the EU maybe opposed by the DUP, but all indications from Dublin, Brussels and London is that Northern Ireland will remain within the EU customs union, allowing for free movement of goods and people between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It also insures the Good Friday Agreement will continue without any significant disruption. 

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.Radio: Today FM launches new indie music streaming service (@todayfm)

Indie music lovers rejoice as TXFM lives on (sort of). 

October 2016 saw the closure of the much-loved TXFM (formerly Phantom FM)  which was met with criticism from fans and leaving many indie Irish acts with lesser opportunities for exposure.The station's decline was marked by falling revenue, expiration of a broadcasting licence and shifts in how people access music

This morning Communicorp Media decided to do a major u-turn with the launch of TodayXM - a new indie streaming music service.

TodayXM uses a similar logo to its predecessor and hosts a similar playlist to TXFM however, it will be void of the amazing knowledge and chat from TXFM presenters and regular programming. Whether TodayXM will champion Irish indie artists and play the freshest indie tunes is yet to be revealed.

Today FM also launched Today FM 80s and Today FM 90s this morning. According to Today FM the THREE streaming channels will provide a weekly specialist podcast.

8radio, RTÉ 2XM and Dublin Digital Radio also provide non-stop indie music with regular hosts and specialist shows. 

The new boutique of stations is available from TodayFM.com or through the Today FM app. 

[irishmusicfeed]

Media: Virgin Media Reveals Spring Line-Up for TV3 and Re-brand in late 2018

Virgin Media Ireland revealed their spring 2018 line-up at a special press conference today. As part of the new line-up The Tonight Show will be extended to a fourth night each week, the return of Red Rock, Ireland’s Got Talent Season 1 and the Six Nations rugby tournament. 

Today, the media group also confirmed a name change from the TV3 Group to Virgin Media Television Ireland coming into affect in August. The television division of Virgin Media Ireland will also rebrand its TV3, 3e and be3 channels. 

Despite a spokesperson for TV3 Group stating not all of its current channels will be branded under the Virgin Media branding, however the broadcaster has registered Virgin 1, Virgin 2 and Virgin 3 with the BAI and internet domain register. 

The channel re-brands may coincide with the forthcoming 20th anniversary since the launch of TV3 back in 1998. 

TV3′s spring line-up begins from early February. Virgin Media will confirm the new channels in the coming weeks. 

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.Media: MTV Gets Moody for Rebrand 

MTV International has revealed a new look for its international channels - branded MTV Mood Swings. 

Designed in-house by MTV’s World Creative Studio in Argentia with assistance from graphic designers across the globe, MTV has begun to roll-out its human themed idents and logos since last fall, with MTV Latin America and MTV Brazil the first to embrace the new presentation. 

The most recent MTV rebrands include 2015 followed by another update in early 2016 entitled MTV iOS, however, this branding become very annoying over time and very outdated - it is currently being used by MTV UK. 

MTV began its international branding campaign back in 2009 with its first major overhaul with MTV Pop X1000 in 2009; however, MTV in the US and in Canada maintain their own separate identity. 

Regardless of cultural differences and different languages, MTV was very successful in bringing its brand together globally and today it still continues to do so. 

In Spring last year MTV rebranded its sister channels MTV Rocks. MTV Music, MTV Hits, MTV Base, MTV Dance and MTV Classics.

MTV Europe and the recently relaunched MTV in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have been using the new look since late 2017 with many other European MTV channels set to embrace the rebrand from early 2018. 

MTV in Ireland has yet to confirm when it will embrace the new look - however, the channel will broadcast some new shows beginning next week including MTV’s Beach Body SOS, Geordie Shore and Ex on The Beach. 

MTV recently axed its channels in the Adriatic Region replacing MTV Slovenia, MTV Bosnia and Herzegovina, MTV Croatia and MTV Serbia with MTV Europe. 

In recent years MTV has begun to abandon its localized European channels to refocus MTV Europe as the more dominant brand. 

Despite this MTV in Germany, Belgium, the Nordic Region, the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain still maintain their own MTV channels despite major challenges for the broadcaster. 

The rise of music streaming, YouTube and Netflix have made MTV as a brand look very old and stuck in a moment it can’t get out of - hence the recent rebrand MTV Mood Swings will hopefully reconnect MTV’s viewers to their emotions and to the former music brand.

View the new look global MTV branding here.  

[irishmusicfeed]

Media: Irish Broadcasters Reduce News Programmes Over Holiday Period

Public broadcaster RTÉ and independent broadcaster 3News have confirmed a reduction of news programming over the holiday season. 

Starting today RTÉ News has reduced its lunchtime bulletin to 15 minutes, while the evening bulletin the 6.1 News has been reduced to 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, TV3 Group has confirmed it will axe 3News over the holiday period beginning on December 23. TV3 Group’s three channels TV3, 3e and Be3 will be void of any news coverage - with 3News soon to be rebraned to Virgin News returns on January 2.

[irishmusicfeed]

.Music: Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette for Irish Live Shows

The Canadian star will play Live at the Marquee in Cork on July 4th, followed by a date at Dublin's Iveagh Gardens on July 5th.

There's no word on a new album (her last was in 2012), but she debuted a new song called 'Rest' at a gig recently, so we may hear more new material before then.

Tickets are on sale now. 

[irishmusicfeed]

.Music: 8 more acts have been added to Forbidden Fruit, including Justice and Bonobo

Another batch of acts have been added to next year's Forbidden Fruit festival, which takes place at Dublin's Royal Hospital Kilmainham on the June Bank Holiday weekend.

Already announced for Monday, June 4th are The War on Drugs, Grizzly Bear, Thundercat, Spoon, Warpaint and Superorganism.

Joining them on as-yet-unspecified days across the weekend will be Justice, Bonobo, Vince Staples, Glass Animals, Bicep (live), Denis Sulta, Hunee and Ross from Friends (live).

There's plenty more acts still TBA, but tickets are on sale via usual outlets now, if you want to get in early.

Pricing is as follows:

Two Day Weekend (Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd) ON SALE NOW 1st Release - €109.00 2nd Release - €119.00 Three Day (Sat 2nd, Sun 3rd, Mon 4th) ON SALE NOW 1st Release - €162.50

Monday Day (4th) 1st Release - €64.50 ON SALE NOW

[irishmusicfeed]

.Media: TV3 Group To Rebrand to Virgin in 2018 

Virgin Media Ireland will confirm shortly it will rebrand its three channels in the Republic of Ireland, confirmation of the change is due to be confirmed next month.

The idea of rebranding the TV3 Group was first produced in an interview in The Irish Times last month.  It now appears Mike Fries of Liberty Global confirmed the channel name change at a conference in New York. Virgin Media Ireland’s parent company Liberty Global is based in New York. 

TV3 is set to become Virgin 1 followed by Virgin 2 (3e) and Virgin 3 (be3). Virgin Media Ireland have yet to confirm what the channels will broadcast but it is expected Virgin 2 and Virgin 3 will become specialist channels and Virgin 1 will continue to broadcast similar content to TV3. 

However, with a rebrand many of TV3′s current programming line-up could receive a major shake-up. 

All three channels are planning to remain free-to-air, however Virgin is planning on launching channels exclusive to Virgin Media subscription services.

Despite a change in on-air branding and a relaunch of their news content with 3News the state of the art newsroom in early 2017; 3News is set to be rebranded to Virgin News in 2018.

The TV3 Group celebrates it 20th Anniversary in September next year, whether Virgin decides to rebrand prior to these celebrations has yet to be confirmed by Virgin Media in Dublin. 

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.Media: MTV Germany Returns Free-to-Air and Increases Music Content

MTV Germany is set to go free-to-air once again following five years behind a paywall. 

Viacom International Networks Germany & Austria will reveal a new look MTV from December 23. Focusing on homegrown German-speaking programming and a mix of content from MTV US  and MTV UK, MTV Germany will increase the number of music content on the channel. 

Currently, MTV Germany and its opt-out feed for the Austrian market airs mainly scripted reality content from MTV US and MTV UK. However, with the forthcoming relaunch MTV in Germany and Austria will air up to 13 hours of music content. Upon launch the channel will air 3 hours of music documentaries. 

MTV has also confirmed the face of MTV Germany will be new VJ Uli Brase. Local shows include an extended version of music programme MTV Buzz, chart shows including Top 100 of 2017 and MTV’s Biggest Music Moments in 2017. 

Other music content on the channel includes MTV Breakfast Club, MTV Likes, MTV Urban, MTV Rockzone, MTV Classics, 3 From 1, M for Music, MTV Most Wanted, MTV Singles Chart, MTV German Chart and Top 100. 

Using the #FreeYourMTV campaign MTV in Germany and Austria hopes to gain a greater foothold among viewers as many German broadcasters are moving towards free-to-air television in order to maximize its revenue. 

MTV Germany is bucking the trend as Viacom in recent years has put the majority of its channels behind paywalls; MTV Italia and MTV Spain were recently taken off free-to-air formats. 

MTV in Europe has yet to confirm whether other MTV channels will go free-to-air in the coming years. 

2017 marks a turbulent time at the broadcaster as the company closed down a its VIVA channels in Poland and Hungary, however the company increased content in the UK and Argentina with expansion of their Channel 5 and Telefe brands. Viacom plans on launching The Paramount Channel in Ireland and the UK in 2018, following successful launches on free-to-air services in Italy and Spain. MTV state-side continues to struggle despite efforts to relaunch TRL and its attempts to relaunch MTV News were abandoned.

[irishmusicfeed]

.Music: HamsandwicH Announces Irish Tour and New Single 

This will be the group's first new music in over two years, with a full length album due to land in 2018.

Their previous album, Stories from the Surface debuted straight in at the number 1 spot in the Irish Album Charts during April 2015.

Now, the band are in the process of writing and recording their fourth album, with its first offering being 'Bodies', which will be released on November 24th.

HamsandwicH will also be embarking upon a nationwide tour in December, starting with three nights in Whelans, Dublin, and during which, they will air some of their new material.

The Irish Tour December 2017:

Dec 7 Whelans, Dublin

Dec 8 Whelans, Dublin

Dec 9 Whelan's, Dublin

Dec 14 Triskel Christchurch, Cork

Dec 15 Triskel Christchurch, Cork 

Dec 17 Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick

Dec 21 Roisin Dubh, Galway

Dec 27 Set Theatre, Kilkenny

Dec 29 Kavanagh’'s, Portlaoise

[irishmusicfeed]

.Industry: IMRO Calls for a National Music Strategy 

IMRO calls for establishment of National Music Strategy to protect the rights of musicians

Following a briefing at Buswells Hotel, which laid out the contribution of the music industry to the Irish economy, Labour TD Joan Bruton, The Stunning's Steve Wall, and IMRO Chairperson Eleanor McEvoy backed the calls for the establishment of a National Music Strategy to foster the growth and stability of the music industry.

A new report, commissioned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and produced by Deloitte, has been released today and finds that the overall contribution of the music industry in Ireland stands at €700 million, and that employment in the music industry stands at over 13,000.

According to IMRO, these findings underline the opportunity for further growth in the sector through the development of a National Music Strategy - similar to the Irish Film Board (soon to be renamed Screen Ireland).

To find out more details about IMRO and the new report, see here.

[irishmusicfeed]

Music: Maria Kelly Releases Hollow 

Maria Kelly is one of our favourite rising female Irish singer-songwriters. 

We’ve had her tunes on heavy rotation in the office over the last year or so and we were very excited to learn she will make an appearance on next year’s edition of Other Voices (to be recorded this December). 

Maria Kelly recently announced to fans she had new music on the way and finally here it is ‘Hollow’. The Irish artist is expected to release an album in late 2018. 

Maria Kelly is currently on tour throughout Ireland this month, full list of dates here. 

Listen here. 

[irishmusicfeed]

.Music: Le Boom Reveal Second Single 

One of our favourite Irish acts Le Boom (aka Christy Leech and Aimie Mallon) are back!

After many appearances at festivals across Ireland last summer and their first single release being used as the summer anthem for Vodafone Ireland. Le Boom have revealed their new single ahead of their sold out show in Dublin. 

‘Don’t Need It Now’ is their latest single release available to stream now. The duo play Whelan’s with Mix & Fairbanks on November 24.

[irishmusicfeed]

.Music: Irish Rockers My Bloody Valentine Confirm New LP 

Shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine will release a new album and tour in 2018, according to frontman Kevin Shields.

Shields told US music magazine Rolling Stone that a new album was in the works after the band had originally intended only to record an EP. "In some respects, some of it is a bit straightforward," he said. "The MBV album that we did in 2013 feels more meandery and not as concise. This one is like if somebody took that and dropped some acid on it or created a dimensional clash or something. It’s more all over the place… The record I am making now is not so much about death and change as freedom of the soul."

The interview also said that Shields was 'adamant' that the band would be touring in support of the record.

[irishmusicfeed]

.Media: Virgin Media to Rebrand TV3 Group in 2018

The TV3 Group has recently begun to leak information to the Irish media of a possible name-change for its TV3 branded channels. 

TV3 will celebrate its 20th anniversary in September 2018, its parent company Virgin Media and its owner Liberty Global are considering renaming TV3 Group’s boutique of channels.

It looks very likely TV3, 3e and be3 will be rebranded to Virgin 1, 2 and 3 in 2018. Virgin Media in London and Dublin are looking at possible ways to rebrand its channels in Ireland, nearly a year after a refresh of its channels presentation and line-up. 

It seems both TV3 and 3e have abandoned their recent attempts to refocus the channels line-up which was introduced in January 2017; TV3 was meant to be the home of homegrown produce and 3e focusing on youth entertainment. 

Many of ITV’s programming previously on 3e and be3 have been moved over to TV3 for the winter schedule, meaning 3e relies on repeats and be3 is struggles to crave out an identity. 

A re-positioning of the channels is problematic, if and when Liberty Global decides to sell off the TV3 Group; would the re-positioned brands maintain a Virgin themed brand?

Meanwhile the Virgin brand has failed in many attempts to enter Ireland, from Virgin Cola to Virgin Media Stores and its indie music label V2 Records which once had a Dublin based office, before Virgin Records dropped this indie label. 

The decision to possibly rebrand the TV3 Group is more than likely coming from Virgin Media in London rather than Virgin Media in Dublin. When UPC Ireland was moved closer to Virgin Media’s operations in London it was decided to rebrand UPC Ireland to Virgin Media Ireland - leaving very little room for its own identity and lacks a sense of Irishness. Virgin Media in the UK up until recently used the British flag as part of the companies logo. 

Further problems arise with the Virgin name - the terms Virgin News, Virgin Player, Virgin Kids don’t sound so great in reality which currently operate under the 3News, 3Player and 3Kids branding 

TV3′s over reliance on ITV content brings a mixed bag of feelings - the lack of investment in unique Irish content means any criticism of RTÉ or TG4 by TV3 is laughable and TV3 using their long-term agreement with ITV to fill up its schedules across the 3 channels means money, creativity and talent that should be invested in independent Irish productions is actually lining the pockets of executives at ITV  it is important to note Liberty Global has shares in the British television company courtesy of its Irish-American owner John Malone). 

Meanwhile, as RTÉ continues to off-load heavy costs in terms of sporting content it seems the public broadcaster could begin sharing more sporting content with the TV3 Group and TG4. TV3 are looking for a similar agreement to what BBC and ITV have in the United Kingdom, where both broadcasters share some major sporting content in an effort to reduce costs and fight back against pay-wall broadcasters such as Sky and Eurosport. 

TV3 claim to be the second most watched channel in the Republic of Ireland and according to a recent interview in The Irish Times with Ireland’s Virgin Media CEO Tony Hanway, he doesn’t want to settle there and aims to beat RTÉ in the ratings. If this is to happen it really needs to invest in unique Irish content which TV3 fails to do at the moment. 

The possible rebrand could take place in early 2018, however its more than likely to occur this time next year following the 20th anniversary since its first channel launched by TV3 in Ireland back in 1998.