Anne OMalley
Needs to get out more
This is a suggestion to enhance the role of the Things website as an information resource for bands and artists in Ireland. (I don't know much about IU, but I imagine this would apply equally to them.)
How about a "power map" of Irish venues, to be displayed on the website? This would be a schematic diagram showing who owns what venue(s), who promotes in what venue(s), how open a venue is to independent (ie non-MCD or non-Aitken) promoters - that sort of thing.
I think a lot of people are somewhat in the dark about who is pulling the strings behind a lot of the gigs in Ireland. Everyone knows about MCD but the situation is undoubtedly far more complicated than simply Big Guy (MCD) vs. Little Guys (everyone else). Who are the little guys? How big are they? Which ones are the bigger of the little guys...?! (Etc.!)
The other thing about such a resource is it might encourage bands and artists who are so inclined to think a bit more pragmatically and tactically about such questions as where/when they might (and might not) want to play.
The motivation behind my suggesting this is not any kind of radical agenda but simply the belief that knowledge is power. Given that, providing a map is one way for those with knowledge to empower others.
In other words, people should be able to take from such information whatever they wish. Some bands might perceive themselves as radical and see their mission as overthrowing the status quo of power in the Irish music industry; meanwhile others will be opportunists seeking to exploit this status quo for their own ends. I think it's very important that both attitudes should be armed and mobilised by a power map of Irish venues.
It's amazing how much an "outsider" can learn from just a few minutes chatting to someone experienced in the "scene". In keeping with the spirit of Things, the value of this knowledge should be recognised and it should be made available to all.
(Apologies for the scare quotes - I'm trying not to be partisan here.)
How about a "power map" of Irish venues, to be displayed on the website? This would be a schematic diagram showing who owns what venue(s), who promotes in what venue(s), how open a venue is to independent (ie non-MCD or non-Aitken) promoters - that sort of thing.
I think a lot of people are somewhat in the dark about who is pulling the strings behind a lot of the gigs in Ireland. Everyone knows about MCD but the situation is undoubtedly far more complicated than simply Big Guy (MCD) vs. Little Guys (everyone else). Who are the little guys? How big are they? Which ones are the bigger of the little guys...?! (Etc.!)
The other thing about such a resource is it might encourage bands and artists who are so inclined to think a bit more pragmatically and tactically about such questions as where/when they might (and might not) want to play.
The motivation behind my suggesting this is not any kind of radical agenda but simply the belief that knowledge is power. Given that, providing a map is one way for those with knowledge to empower others.
In other words, people should be able to take from such information whatever they wish. Some bands might perceive themselves as radical and see their mission as overthrowing the status quo of power in the Irish music industry; meanwhile others will be opportunists seeking to exploit this status quo for their own ends. I think it's very important that both attitudes should be armed and mobilised by a power map of Irish venues.
It's amazing how much an "outsider" can learn from just a few minutes chatting to someone experienced in the "scene". In keeping with the spirit of Things, the value of this knowledge should be recognised and it should be made available to all.
(Apologies for the scare quotes - I'm trying not to be partisan here.)
**walks off in a huff**
