2015 sees the 10th anniversary of the Meteor Choice Music Prize and it goes from strength to strength as the shortlist for Irish Album of the Year 2014, in association with IMRO and IRMA, was announced this afternoon.
The overall winning Album of the Year will be selected by the judging panel at the Meteor Choice Music Prize Live Event at Vicar St, Dublin on Thursday, March 5th 2015.
The shortlist is as follows (artists listed in alphabetical order):
Aphex Twin – Syro (Warp)
Delorentos – Night Becomes Light (Universal Ireland)
The Gloaming – The Gloaming (Real World)
Hozier – Hozier (Rubyworks/Universal)
James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical (Faction)
Sinead O’ Connor – I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss (Nettwerk)
Damien Rice – My Favourite Faded Fantasy (Warner Music)
The Riptide Movement – Getting Through (Universal Ireland)
U2 – Songs of Innocence (Island)
We Cut Corners – Think Nothing (Delphi)
“2014 was an incredible year for Irish music. A wealth of emerging talent made serious inroads in various international territories while taking the creative force of Irish music around the world and in so doing reaching new audiences each step of the way. Each year, the Meteor Choice Music Prize recognises and champions some of our finest songwriters and IMRO is delighted to continue its longstanding association with this prestigious music prize– Victor Finn, IMRO Chief Executive.
The Meteor Choice Music Prize event will be broadcast live on Today FM in a special four hour extended programme during the Paul McLoone show.
Once again, RTE 2 Television will broadcast a one-hour highlights programme of the Meteor Choice Music Prize on Sunday March 8th.
Tickets for the Meteor Choice Music Prize live event will go on sale from all Ticketmaster outlets and from http://www.ticketmaster.ie on Friday January 9th, priced €24.00 including booking fee.
The winning 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 of the shortlisted acts will receive a specially-commissioned award, courtesy of IMRO and IRMA.
“IRMA are once again delighted to be involved with the Choice Music Prize and to celebrate the success of the award. IRMA’s interest in the cultivation of new artists through its members is at the centre of the long-running partnership with the music prize”. – Willie Kavanagh, Director General of IRMA.
Lisa Comerford, Meteor’s Consumer Marketing Director, said “The celebration of ten years of Ireland’s finest albums, singers and songwriters is quite an achievement, and Meteor is delighted to continue to support the very best in home-grown music through the Meteor Choice Music Prize. The competition is always fierce for the coveted ‘Irish Album of the Year’ title and this year is certainly no different. As always, our esteemed judges have a difficult task ahead, and given the caliber of shortlist I certainly don’t envy their task!”
HMV Xtra vision are retail partners of the Meteor Choice Music Prize and will feature special stands showcasing the Meteor Choice Music Prize nominees across their stores nationwide.
The Meteor Choice Music Prize – Song of the Year 2014 shortlist will be announced later this month.
The celebrations for the 10th Anniversary of the Prize was heralded by a series of special events around the country. The first of these took place in November in Cork and Galway and featured three Meteor Choice Music Prize winning acts – Villagers, Jape and Delorentos sharing a stage for the first time.
MCMP is supported by IMRO, IRMA, RAAP, Today FM, RTE, Culture Ireland, HMV Xtra-vision & Music Week.
