RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations will take place earlier in the day at at BIMM, Francis St, Dublin. With four topical music-industry discussion panels taking place between 12.00-16.30, Conversations brings together artists and industry professionals to discuss and explore some of the key issues affecting both performers and the wider industry at the present time. Admission is free, but attendees will need to register for a ticket here as spaces are limited.
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations / Hosted by Jim Carroll (RTÉ)
11.00
Registration at BIMM, Francis St
12.00 – 12.45
Panel 1 Keynote Interview
Conor O’ Brien, Villagers
As he prepares for the release of Villagers’ 6th album, Conor will be discussing his exceptional career – from his early days co-fronting Choice Music Prize-nominated indie sensation ‘The Immediate’, through signing to Domino Recording Company, to playing sold-out Villagers shows all over the world both solo and with a full band.
13.00-13.45
Panel 2 Breaking Through in 2024
It’s a constantly changing and evolving landscape, and there are a multitude of ways of making it to the top. But what is the best way to amplify your music and your brand in a meaningful way right now? This is your guide to the key boxes you must tick in 2024 if you want to get noticed.
Panellists:
- Nels Hylton (BBC Radio 1)
- Matt Manner (Runway Artists)
- Sheena Madden (Amplify Agency)
- Paddy McLean (Co-General Manager Chaos Label / Polydor)
14.00 – 14.45
Panel 3 – The Long Arm of the Law – Are music lawyers the most important connectors in the music industry?
With A&R becoming less focused on songs and personalities and more data-driven, is a Music Lawyer now the most valuable piece in a rising artist’s jigsaw puzzle? One of the best routes for creating interest from key sections of the industry, lawyers can help secure a manager and an agent as well as introduce labels, publishers and DSPs…are you already lost without one?
Panellists:
- Ally Horn (Partner, Russell’s London)
- Will Headlam Wells (Statham Gill Davies London)
- Willie Ryan (Solicitor / Barrister)
15.00-15.50
Panel 4 (In association with AIM Ireland)
The Future of Music – A Panel of experts from across Europe discuss how AI is changing the industry, in real time.
Join us for ‘The Future of Music’ panel, where a diverse group of music industry trailblazers from across Europe will delve into the dynamic realm of AI’s real-time influence on the music business. Explore the transformative role of AI in day-to-day operations for music professionals, including tech, marketing, publishing, and independent labels. This engaging discussion goes beyond the legal aspects, focusing on how AI is reshaping the landscape and redefining the everyday workflows for industry experts and the artists they champion. Gain insights into the cutting-edge strategies and innovations that are propelling the music industry into an AI-driven future.
Hosted by Gill Dooley (CEO, AIM Ireland)
Panellists
Jaime Castañosa (Head of Marketing & Operations at Melboss)
Petra Kauraisa (Communications Executive & Consultant)
Ines Pagano (AMAEI – Portuguese Indie Trade association)
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Later that night, the winning album will be announced at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St and will be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm. A special TV show will be broadcast on Thursday 14th March at 22.30 on RTÉ2.
The Classic Irish Album will be announced live on the Will Leahy Show on RTÉ Gold this Thursday, 22nd Feb, followed by a full play of the album, and a Classic Irish Album feature on Dan Hegarty’s show. The prize will be presented along with Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist at the live event in Vicar Street.
The Irish Song of the Year 2023 will be announced by Tracy Clifford on the day of the live event and presented to the winner that night. Tracy will also host the event.
——————–
The 19th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize will once again celebrate the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005. The Irish Album of the Year award is chosen from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts.
The winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.
RAAP, Culture Ireland, First Music Contact, Minding Creative Minds, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Coimisiún na Meán are also official project partners of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize.
Through its funding of the Music From Ireland programme, Culture Ireland’s support of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be directed towards shortlisted artists, as well as assisting the RTÉ Choice Music Prize “Conversations”.
Lankum win the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2023
Lankum has been announced as the winner of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2023 for the album False Lankum. Previous AOTY winner Denise Chalia made the announcement in Vicar St after the judging panel, made up of Irish music media professionals and chaired by Jim Carroll, met up this evening to decide on the winning album.
xxxxx received a cheque for €10,000, a prize which has been provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), as well as a specially commissioned award.
The event, hosted by RTÉ 2FM’s Tracy Clifford, took place live in Vicar St and was broadcast live on 2FM with Beta Da Silva, included exclusive performances from eight of the nominated artists.
Cian Ducrot has been voted the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year for his song “Heaven”. The song was selected from a shortlist of 10 songs by public vote (Ireland only), via the RTÉ 2FM and Choice Music Prize websites and was announced by Tracy Clifford on her 2FM show this afternoon.
Jazzy won Irish Artist of the Year presented by Neil Hannon, as well as Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year presented by Mark Crossingham from Universal Ireland. Dave Fanning collected U2’s award for the Classic Irish Album Achtung Baby. The Edge and Adam Clayton sent a message via video from Las Vegas.
Conversations, with four industry panels, took place earlier in the day in BIMM on Francis St.
RTÉ2 will broadcast a one-hour TV programme of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, featuring performances from the eight acts and hosted by Tracy Clifford on Thursday 14th March at 22.30.
Cian Ducrot Voted RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of The Year
The winner of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2023 will be announced at the live event in Vicar Street tonight by previous winner, Denise Chaila.
The winner will receive a cheque for €10,000, a prize which has been provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), as well as a specially commissioned award.
The event will be hosted by RTÉ 2FM’s Tracy Clifford and will be broadcast live on 2FM with Beta Da Silva, including exclusive performances from eight of the nominated artists.
Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year will also be announced, while Dave Fanning will collect U2’s award for the Classic Irish Album Achtung Baby.
RTÉ will broadcast a one-hour TV programme of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, featuring performances from the eight acts and hosted by Tracy Clifford on Thursday 14th March at 22.30 on RTÉ2.
Classic Irish Album 2023
Classic Irish Album
And the winning album is…
Achtung Baby
by U2
The judges for the prize are Sinead Crowley (Coimisiún na Meán), Michael Kealy (RTÉ TV), Maeve Quigley (Irish Daily Mail) and Will Leahy (RTÉ Gold) with Paul Russell (2FM) as the chairperson.
The panel chose Achtung Baby by U2 as their Classic Irish Album for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize and explain further: Read more
Conversations 2024
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations will take place earlier in the day at at BIMM, Francis St, Dublin. With four topical music-industry discussion panels taking place between 12.00-16.30, Conversations brings together artists and industry professionals to discuss and explore some of the key issues affecting both performers and the wider industry at the present time. Admission is free, but attendees will need to register for a ticket here as spaces are limited.
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations / Hosted by Jim Carroll (RTÉ)
11.00
Registration at BIMM, Francis St
12.00 – 12.45
Panel 1 Keynote Interview
Conor O’ Brien, Villagers
As he prepares for the release of Villagers’ 6th album, Conor will be discussing his exceptional career – from his early days co-fronting Choice Music Prize-nominated indie sensation ‘The Immediate’, through signing to Domino Recording Company, to playing sold-out Villagers shows all over the world both solo and with a full band.
13.00-13.45
Panel 2 Breaking Through in 2024
It’s a constantly changing and evolving landscape, and there are a multitude of ways of making it to the top. But what is the best way to amplify your music and your brand in a meaningful way right now? This is your guide to the key boxes you must tick in 2024 if you want to get noticed.
Panellists:
14.00 – 14.45
Panel 3 – The Long Arm of the Law – Are music lawyers the most important connectors in the music industry?
With A&R becoming less focused on songs and personalities and more data-driven, is a Music Lawyer now the most valuable piece in a rising artist’s jigsaw puzzle? One of the best routes for creating interest from key sections of the industry, lawyers can help secure a manager and an agent as well as introduce labels, publishers and DSPs…are you already lost without one?
Panellists:
15.00-15.50
Panel 4 (In association with AIM Ireland)
The Future of Music – A Panel of experts from across Europe discuss how AI is changing the industry, in real time.
Join us for ‘The Future of Music’ panel, where a diverse group of music industry trailblazers from across Europe will delve into the dynamic realm of AI’s real-time influence on the music business. Explore the transformative role of AI in day-to-day operations for music professionals, including tech, marketing, publishing, and independent labels. This engaging discussion goes beyond the legal aspects, focusing on how AI is reshaping the landscape and redefining the everyday workflows for industry experts and the artists they champion. Gain insights into the cutting-edge strategies and innovations that are propelling the music industry into an AI-driven future.
Hosted by Gill Dooley (CEO, AIM Ireland)
Panellists
Jaime Castañosa (Head of Marketing & Operations at Melboss)
Petra Kauraisa (Communications Executive & Consultant)
Ines Pagano (AMAEI – Portuguese Indie Trade association)
——————————————————————–
Later that night, the winning album will be announced at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St and will be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm. A special TV show will be broadcast on Thursday 14th March at 22.30 on RTÉ2.
The Classic Irish Album will be announced live on the Will Leahy Show on RTÉ Gold this Thursday, 22nd Feb, followed by a full play of the album, and a Classic Irish Album feature on Dan Hegarty’s show. The prize will be presented along with Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist at the live event in Vicar Street.
The Irish Song of the Year 2023 will be announced by Tracy Clifford on the day of the live event and presented to the winner that night. Tracy will also host the event.
——————–
The 19th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize will once again celebrate the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005. The Irish Album of the Year award is chosen from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts.
The winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.
RAAP, Culture Ireland, First Music Contact, Minding Creative Minds, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Coimisiún na Meán are also official project partners of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize.
Through its funding of the Music From Ireland programme, Culture Ireland’s support of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be directed towards shortlisted artists, as well as assisting the RTÉ Choice Music Prize “Conversations”.
Live Event Line-up Announcement
The line-up for this year’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event, in association with IMRO & IRMA, has just been announced by Tracy Clifford on RTÉ 2FM. Seven of the ten nominated acts have confirmed to perform at the event in Vicar St in March.
Irish Song of the Year 2023 – Shortlist Announcement
Irish Album of the Year 2023 – Shortlist Announcement
The shortlist for this year’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2023, in association with IMRO & IRMA, was announced today on RTÉ 2FM’s Tracy Clifford Show.
The shortlist is as follows:
Read more
2024 Key Dates
Irish Album of the Year 2023 Shortlist Announcement – 8th January
Irish Song of the Year 2023 Shortlist Announcement – 12th January
Live in Vicar St, Dublin with an Exclusive RTÉ2FM Broadcast – 7th March
(Tickets on Sale Friday 17th Nov at 9am, priced €29.50 plus booking fees)
Returning Prizes:
Irish Artist of the Year
Irish Breakthrough Artist
Classic Irish Album
Find out more about the prizes here.
Read more
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Winners 2022
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2022
CMAT – If My Wife New I’d Be Dead
RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2022
Moncrieff – Warm
Irish Artist of the Year 2022
Fontaines D.C.
Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2022
Cian Ducrot
Classic Irish Album
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got by Sinéad O’ Connor
CMAT has been announced as the winner of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2022 for the album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead. Last year’s winner Dave Balfe (For Those I Love), made the announcement in Vicar St after the judging panel, made up of Irish music media professionals and chaired by Jim Carroll, met up this evening to decide on the winning album.
CMAT received a cheque for €10,000, a prize which has been provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), as well as a specially-commissioned award. Irish Drag Queen Lavender collected the award on her behalf as CMAT is away on tour.
The event, hosted by RTÉ 2FM’s Tracy Clifford, took place live in Vicar St and was broadcast live on 2FM with Jenny Greene, including exclusive performances from five of the nominated artists.
Moncrieff has been voted the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year for his song ‘Warm’. The song was selected from a shortlist of 10 songs by public vote (Ireland only), via the RTÉ 2FM and Choice Music Prize websites. Fans were given the chance to get behind their favourite Irish song of 2022 until midnight last Sunday.
Conor Curley from Fontaines D.C. picked up their Irish Artist of the Year prize. Dave Fanning presented Sinéad O’ Connor with her award for the Classic Irish Album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. And Cian Ducrot won the Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
RTÉ2 will broadcast a one-hour TV programme of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, featuring performances from the five acts, along with interviews by Bláthnaid Treacy on Thursday 16th March at 22.30.
————————————————————————————————————————–
The 18th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize, once again, celebrated the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005.
The winning Album of the Year act receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts received a specially commissioned award.
RAAP, Culture Ireland, FMC, the BAI and Minding Creative Minds are also official project partners of the RTE Choice Music Prize.
Through its funding of the Music From Ireland programme, Culture Ireland’s support of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be directed towards shortlisted artists, as well as assisting the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations.
Classic Irish Album Winner
Classic Irish Album
And the winning album is…
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
By
Sinéad O’ Connor
The winning album in the inaugural RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Classic Album, in association with IMRO & IRMA, has just been announced by Tracy Clifford on 2FM. The winning album is: I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got by Sinéad O’ Connor
The judges for the prize are Ann Maire Shields (BIMM), Jenny Huston (SiriusXM), Rick O’ Shea (RTÉ Gold), Stuart Clark (Hot Press) with Paul Russell (2FM) as the non-judging chairperson. In choosing I Do Not Want What I haven’t Got by Sinéad O’Connor (released by Ensign / Chrysalis Records in 1990) the panel felt the ten songs on this album represented “a stunning body of work by an Irish artist, scorching with originality in songs that are as resonant today as they were more than 30 years ago.”
Released in the same year as Bossanova by Pixies, Fear Of A Black Planet by Public Enemy and Sonic Youth’s Goo, Sinéad’s second album is testament to her extraordinary musical and vocal talent and her determination to stand apart. From her take on Thatcher’s Britain in “Black Boys On Mopeds” to the drum-sampled interpretation of 17th century poem “I Am Stretched On Your Grave”, this is an outstanding Irish album. And, at its heart is the riveting and unmistakable voice of Sinéad O’Connor.
“Sinéad O’ Connor’s distinctive voice, fiery temperament and shaved head made her famous by the age of twenty-one. Unafraid to call out hypocrisy wherever she saw it, O’ Connor was unapologetic”. – Rememberings
Sinéad’s dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad, spans five decades thanks to her iconic voice and her uncompromising approach to life. The RTÉ Choice Music Prize is honoured to have her as a guest at the event on Thursday to collect the prize.