Vision Statement

We aim to be the unifying body for music publishing in Ireland, raising national understanding of the important contribution of music publishers to the creative process and building an energized collaboration with our members to advocate together for our community.

History

The first Music Publishers’ Association in Ireland was called RIMPA (Republic of Ireland Music Publishers Association). This company was incorporated in 1976 and included amongst its first Directors were Michael O Riordan (Emma Music), Peter Bardon (Bardis Music) as well as John Dardis (later of Trend Recording Studio), Patrick Walton (Walton’s music shop Dublin) and Brian Warfield (The Wolf Tones) The company was made up of a small number of locally Irish based music publishers, as well as several well-known writer/publishers.  Included among the latter were the UK’s Phillip Green (1911-1982) (who had relocated to Ireland and who composed the score for as many as 150 films as well as countless TV themes), and another UK Irish resident, Vincent Smialek who had set up the first Mechanical Copyright Protection Society in Ireland and was instrumental in encouraging the formation of a local publishers’ organization. 

MCPSI provided grants to local publishers to attend MIDEM, the international music convention held annually in Cannes, France. Michael O’Riordan (who would later become the publisher of the Daniel O’Donnell catalogue) was the first Irish publisher to attend MIDEM in 1973 and was also elected as the first President of RIMPA. The renowned Peter Bardon (whose writer-client Ronan Hardiman would compose the score for Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” show) followed in 1974 and has been an annual attendee at MIDEM every year since then. In 1980 Johnny Lappin (Foxrock Music productions  would go on to manage the publishing affairs of the multi-award-winning Irish artist Hozier) was appointed Secretary of the Association.

In order to grow the publishing community and attract International publishers, the company’s name was changed to the Music Publishers Association of Ireland (MPAI) and the memorandum & articles of the company were completely revamped in 1996 which allowed for membership of UK based music publishing companies. 

Amongst the first international directors to serve on the ‘New’ Council (as the Board was then called) was the late legendary duo of Jonathan Simon (Warner Chappell) and Tony Poole (Boosey & Hawkes). One of the initial goals of RIMPA had been the formation of an Irish-owned performing rights management organisation, hitherto the performing right in Ireland’s copyrights was controlled and administered by the Performing Right Society (PRS) in London. Pressed by the local Irish songwriters’ community, principally Jimmy Mc Carthy and Brendan Graham, as well as the aforementioned local publishers, IMRO was incorporated in 1988 as a subsidiary company of PRS and became fully independent in 1996. 

MPAI membership has grown steadily since that time and now includes many of the top worldwide music publishing companies, including Peer Music (often referred to as the biggest Independent publisher in the world), Bucks Music Group, along with four of the major’s, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell and BMG Music Rights. 

MPAI is also a valued member of the Brussels based International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) the global trade body for the music publishing industry and together with ICMP, continues to lobby the Irish Government on the all-important copyright legislation that will affect local Irish songwriters and publishers in the exciting new ‘digital’ era.

MPAI is the parent company of MCPS (Ire) Ltd which, through an Agency agreement with MCPS Ltd. in London, oversees the administration of the mechanical right in musical works in Ireland.