01/03/2005: Arts Council Heeds Unsigned Artsists:	Sabrina Joyce
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Dublin rock band Silver Addictive, together with the Irish unsigned music community, welcomes the Art Council's announcement on February 17th that it is commissioning an independent report on its current policy on funding of Ireland's contemporary acts. The report will review existing support schemes taking example from precedents set in other European countries and will recommend changes to the Arts Council's current policy. The Arts Council is the sole dispenser of grants and bursaries for the Arts in Ireland. Presently, the criteria for all schemes and bursaries exclude applications from unsigned bands among other groups. Last December, Silver Addictive petitioned the Arts Council on behalf of all unsigned Irish acts to review this policy. Contributing over € 120 million a year to the exchequer through various areas of the music industry, unsigned bands in Ireland are the industry's financial backbone. "Although we welcome this announcement and are happy our petition's momentum has prompted the Arts Council to pay attention to our repeated lobbying", said Silver Addictive's manager Sabrina Joyce. "We will be closely monitoring the progress of the new report as, two previous reports commissioned by the now defunct Irish Music Board were never implemented and cost the taxpayer € 350,000.00 "We hope any recommendations we provide to the Arts Council, will provide a sustainable model ensuring Irish contemporary Music is brought up to European standard and that all musical sectors are adequately and equally catered for. Let's hope that this is not another exercise in frivolous expenditure by yet another Government body". € 61 million was allotted to the Arts Council of Ireland in December's budget, an increase of 16% or € 8.5 million on 2003's budget. for further info log on to www.silveraddictive.com to sign the petition go to www.artscouncilpetition.tk or download the petition form from the Silver Addictive website

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