I Got A Letter From the Government the Other Day...
Ok, so yesterday team ATL had a family outing to the Oh Yeah centre, invited to 'some council thing about music'. Armed with our trusty camera, we tottered along and were, it must be said, pleasantly surprised at how our city fathers seem to be embracing the musicians of Northern Ireland.
Our government representatives, always happy to receive the taxes, rates etc of the night-time economy, have not always been so forthcoming with praise for the DIY spirit of rock n roll, so to hear a Belfast City Councillor argue the case for putting significant amounts of the public purse into helping bands spread their wings and develop, was obviously welcome.
With the collapse of NIMIC (the former NI music industry sectoral body) it is easy to bemoan the lack of grass roots investment, and this should of course be lobbied for, but certainly in terms of potential to market what we've been achieving musically, there has rarely been a better time to shout loudly that we have music to match any major city in the UK.
Bands, labels, distributors and promoters from Northern Ireland will get to travel to make connections, showcase their wares and hopefully do some actual business. An iPhone app promoting Belfast music is already available and there was an exciting, but as yet lacking in detail, reference to a week of MTV happenings in autumn, culminating in a collossal gig and some serious focus on the city.
Watch the film, and pay close attention to the comments at the end. There is no point in funding fairytales or funding the arts for a few people to enjoy elitist pursuits when every day promoters, DJs and bands are regularly putting bums on seats in their real world with no help at all. The timing is good, the money will help.
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