The 2025 IMRO Ireland: Music Report, compiled by CORE Analysis, reveals that Eire’s music trade is a major contributor to the nationwide economic system, producing €1 billion yearly and using over 13,400 individuals.
The analysis findings had been launched right this moment, Tuesday, July 8, by Alan Kelly TD, Cathaoirleach of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Tradition and Sport, and introduced to IMRO members.
The report paints an image of a nation deeply linked to music, with the typical grownup in Eire spending virtually €1,000 per yr on music-related services.
Dwell occasions dominate client expenditure, producing €786 million yearly, with the Irish public additionally spending €375 million on streaming companies in 2024.
Nonetheless, the report additionally discovered that music careers are below strain. 43% of these working within the music sector maintain full-time positions, with the bulk both working part-time or supplementing their revenue by way of jobs outdoors of the trade.
The 2025 IMRO Eire: Music Report makes suggestions for a way the Irish Authorities might higher nurture the indigenous music trade, in addition to to guard it from new risks corresponding to the arrival of AI.
The suggestions embrace:
- Advocating for truthful AI laws and laws to guard the music trade by totally implementing the EU AI Act to make sure platforms conform to their transparency obligations and {that a} regulated market is maintained for the licensing of present copyright works.
- Apply profitable monetary methods from the movie trade to strengthen Eire’s music sector. An instance of this might be amending Part 481 to make sure the continuing inclusion of music creation throughout the cultural take a look at and introducing particular tax incentives for utilizing Irish music inside Audiovisual productions.
- Eire’s music trade, whereas profitable in cultivating grassroots and impartial expertise, is seen to lack the extent of state intervention and world advertising and marketing equipment seen within the likes of South Korea, the place Ok-pop’s world success is underpinned by systematic coaching programmes, high-budget productions, and strategic advertising and marketing.
- A continuation of helps for Eire’s grassroots music venues, to make sure they will proceed to foster new expertise and maintain Eire’s musical heritage, thus enabling the following technology of Irish musical artists by way of the availability of efficiency alternatives. Assist monetary stability for musicians by placing the Fundamental Earnings for the Arts scheme on a everlasting footing, growing entry to project-based funding, and fostering alternatives for revenue technology by way of touring help, worldwide showcasing, {and professional} growth initiatives.
“Extraordinary cultural and financial worth of music in Eire”
Commenting on the launch, Alan Kelly TD, Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media Tradition, Communications and Sport, mentioned: “The findings of the Eire: Music Report 2025 spotlight the extraordinary cultural and financial worth of music in Eire.
“Producing over €1 billion yearly and supporting greater than 13,400 jobs, the music sector is just not solely a key driver of our artistic economic system, however a elementary a part of our nationwide identification.
“Irish individuals’s ardour for music – mirrored within the outstanding ranges of spending on dwell occasions and streaming – demonstrates the deep, enduring bond between our residents and the artists who encourage them.
“However this report additionally serves as a well timed reminder that keenness alone can’t maintain a profession in music. Too lots of our artists and songwriters are grappling with monetary insecurity, exacerbated by the unfair distribution of streaming revenues and the rising challenges posed by AI. Authorities should take these findings significantly. From making the Fundamental Earnings for the Arts everlasting to making sure truthful AI regulation, we’ve got a transparent accountability to help the individuals behind Eire’s musical success story.”
“Music is embedded in our every day lives”
IMRO Chairperson and award-winning songwriter Eleanor McEvoy added: “On the coronary heart of this report is a transparent reality: Irish individuals don’t simply take pleasure in music – they dwell it. From packed pageant fields to quiet moments with a favorite playlist, music is embedded in our every day lives. This heartfelt connection is on the core of our vibrant music tradition, however individuals working within the sector want greater than ardour to thrive.
“As Chair of IMRO, I’m proud to symbolize a neighborhood of creators who proceed to innovate and encourage, regardless of the monetary pressures they face. We have to be certain that musicians are pretty compensated within the streaming economic system, protected against rising dangers corresponding to unregulated AI, and supported by way of initiatives like Fundamental Earnings for the Arts and Part 481 reforms.
“The suggestions outlined right here aren’t simply aspirational, they’re important steps towards a sustainable and equitable future for Irish music, and we stay up for working carefully with the Authorities and the Oireachtas Committees to furthering these suggestions.”
