'Shame on them': Musicians react to BCI airplay clarification

"It sounds ridiculous. Shame on them," Concerto For Constantine bassist Gavin Fox told Hotpress.com. "It sounds to me like just another excuse for stations not to get behind Irish music."

"I reckon R.E.M. and Kylie Minogue would agree with me," he continued. "There's a huge amount of great Irish music out there. They might say there's no demand for it, but if you play it people will come around."

Kila's Colm O'Snodaigh quoted Bob Dylan, who wrote that radio was 'gutless and flabby'. "There's a load of great Irish music around right now that radio just doesn't seem to cater for. Just look at the Choice Music Prize crowd for example," he said.

"I wouldn’t like to be the one coming up with the hard and fast rules about what’s Irish and what’s not," he continued. "Sure didn’t we used to have Def Leppard and Lisa Stansfield living here as tax exiles, does that mean they’d count as Irish too? With all due respect to R.E.M., it’s great that they’re supporting the Irish music industry and all, but they certaintly don’t need the extra airplay."

Julie Feeney, who is currently in the process of recording her second album, repeated the assertions of the quantity and quality of contemporary Irish music. "They shouldn’t need to rely on a technicality like this – it’s going too far," she said. "All it takes is a bit of imagination and persistence from a DJ who’s willing to take the jump and play Irish artists."