Jim Carrollon music

The digital switch-on has begun in earnest at RTÉ with plans announced this week for six trial digital radio stations.

The stations, including RTÉ Junior for children and RTÉ Gold for classic hits fans, will initially be accessible to DAB radio set holders in Dublin and along the north-east coast.

The most interesting of the six debutantes is 2XM, which according to RTÉ's digital music co-ordinator Mark McCabe, will specialise in new music.

"These days, everyone has their own iPods and music collections, but they might not have the time to be continuously updating their music. That's where 2XM comes in. We're a music source which will be constantly updated."

2XM will operate as a DJ-free station, a policy which London station XFM has also recently embraced. "We did a lot of research about the exact kind of services people wanted from a station," explains McCabe. "The feedback we got was that people were sick of DJs talking crap so we got rid of them."

McCabe admits this may change as the station evolves ("We're planning to broadcast from the various summer festivals, so there may be changes as we provide content which is relevant to the audience"), but he is adamant about 2XM's music policy.

"The main thing about 2XM is the music. Daytime radio is daytime radio and commercial radio is always going to be commercial, so this is an outlet for music you wouldn't usually hear at 2pm.

"After all, Mary the hairdresser in Carlow who has 2FM on in the background doesn't want to hear an Arctic Monkeys or Klaxons b-side in the afternoon. But 2XM could, for instance, broadcast a session recorded for the Dan Hegarty show at that time and reach a different audience. What 2XM is today is not necessarily where it will be in six months or a year."

A lot depends on the public's reaction to and uptake of digital radio. "If people don't go and buy the radio sets, digital radio is dead in the water," says McCabe bluntly.

However, a big demand could conceivably lead to more stations. "RTÉ is a content provider and we have the resources to put on air a station of any genre in a cost-effective way," explains McCabe.

"Your TV licence could well be paying for 20 different stations down the road."

Ritter record return

Less than 18 months after the release of Josh Ritter's well-received Animal Years album comes news of a new record from the Moscow, Idaho native.

The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter will be released in Ireland on September 7th.

Recorded last winter in Maine and produced by Ritter's keyboard player Sam Kassirer, Historical Conquests is, at first listen, far more immediate, diverse and adventurous than Animal Years.

Ritter's admiration for Bruce Springsteen comes to the fore on several occasions, but there's also a melodic sensibility and confidence here which is far ahead of any of his previous releases.

Radio stations are likely to be playing tracks such as Mind's Eye, Empty Hearts, Rumors and Real Long Distance quite a lot from September.

The album will be on the Independent Records label here, on Sony/Victor in the US and V2 will take care of the rest of the world.

Snow Patrol freebies

Gary Lightbody and friends have provided further proof that the future of the music business may well be tickets and T-shirts.

Fans who buy tickets for Snow Patrol's Australian shows in September will receive a free copy of the band's Final Straw album with every ticket purchased.

"Buy four tickets and you get four albums to listen to, hang from your Xmas tree or use as frisbees - but we'd prefer you listened and sang along at the shows," said Lightbody.

However, the band's current album, Eyes Open, continues to sell and sell. It has just broken the million mark in the US.

Marketing drive

As marketing gimmicks go, you have to admit that these Icky Thump USB drives from the White Stripes are kind of cute. There's a Jack one and there's a Meg one and each 512MB drive contains the band's new album.

Some may regard these limited edition $99 drives as a little rich given Jack White's previous propensity for favouring analog studios and recordings.

Then again, as their last album Get Behind Me Satan sold only half as much as the previous Elephant album, it really is a case of any (data) port in a storm. jimcarroll@irish-times.ie