Irish Composers and Games Developers can put Ireland at the forefront of providing musical content to the social & casual gaming sector. 
Games Music Ireland (GMI) was launched this week by the Minister for Education and Skills Mr. Ruairi Quinn TD at an event hosted at the offices of IMRO. Its mission is “To ensure that Irish composers are at the fore front in the creation of musical content for the social and casual games industry”.
Mick Kiely, co-founder of GMI said, “Through my experience of being a composer for the AAA sector of the games industry I saw the opportunity for Irish composers to fulfil a huge need in other sectors of the gaming industry if we could get the skill set right.”
He went on to say, “The social and casual gaming sector presents huge possibilities for Irish composers. It is the fastest growing sector of the games industry. We have a huge wealth of talent in both the music and game development communities. Through our unique blend of technical, musical and cultural skills and the ambition offered by our composers, with support, education and hard work; Ireland will be positioned to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in this industry. By working together we will be able to create employment and service the needs of a fast growing industry”
In outlining the importance of developing services that meet the needs of industries looking to locate in Ireland Minister Quinn stated “The importance of up-skilling our workforce cannot be underestimated. If we are to attract more companies and develop clusters for industries we need to have the requisite skill base to meet their needs. We have been very successful in attracting high tech industry. With Ireland fast becoming the ‘Internet Capital of Europe’ we will be doing more to ensure that companies from the social and casual gaming sector choose to locate here”.
He concluded by saying “GMI’s up-skilling programme and overall approach is a welcome step towards making Ireland a more attractive destination for social and casual gaming companies. They have identified a niche in a fast growing market and have taken it upon themselves to up-skill their members to meet the needs of that niche. It’s a story that should be told and emulated”
Games Music Ireland
Games Music Ireland is a new organisation recently set up. Its mission is;
“To ensure that Irish Composers are the fore front in the Creation of Musical Content for the Social and Casual Games Industry”.
This will be achieved through;
- Educating Irish and up skilling composers on the specific needs of game developers introducing them to the latest technologies and production techniques
- Ensuring that there is a support network for Irish composers wishing to enter the games industry
- Fostering communication channels between Irish composers and games developers nationally and internationally
- Representing the views of Irish composers within the games industry nationally and internationally
Global Games Industry
Identified as one of the top 10 fastest growing industries it is estimated that by 2015 the games industry will be worth $82 billion. With further growth predicted it will sustain its position as the fastest growing sector of the Global Entertainment Industry.
Games Industry in Ireland
“Ireland has not only attracted some of the sector’s major global players but we have also home grown companies that have achieved global recognition…” Frank Ryan – Chief Executive, Enterprise Ireland[
“The potential for this sector is immense with potential job gains of 2,500 by end 2014 across a range of activities including games servicing and development”. Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive Forfás
Ireland has benefited from the global growth in this sector. ‘Employment has increased five-fold since 2004 with over 2,000 directly employed today. This number underplays the “complementary linkages” that the games sector has with other related activities’ such as animation, film, consumer-internet and e-learning
