Having just celebrated its tenth anniversary, FIFA Records has become a cornerstone of the Cork music scene. Much of FIFA’s success is due to the fantastic work of Eddie Kiely - the head of A&R and PR - whose impressive work ethic and passion for local music has made him a worthy role model for anyone looking to break into the independent music industry.

FIFA Records was founded ten years ago by Ashley Keating, the drummer of the much-loved Cork band The Frank & Walters. By 2010, the label had become essentially dormant and it was at this point that Keating approached Eddie Kiely asking him to give FIFA a “new lease of life” and to “try to get the name better known, sign a few bands and get the label active again.”

Skip forward to 2016 and FIFA has become synonymous with the words ‘Cork music’. FIFA have taken it upon themselves to dig out the hidden gems of the Cork music scene and to get these acts the exposure and support they deserve. The label now boasts an impressive roster of some of the most lauded acts in the country including The Frank & Walters, The Vincent(s), August Wells and Elastic Sleep.

Kiely explains the FIFA ethos, “FIFA stands for Forever In Financial Arrears. We don't sign contracts with anybody. We don't take the rights of anybody's music. Our aim is to try and get bands up the ladder. If one of our bands is signed, all we hope is that they will turn around to us and say: ‘Thank you so much for your help, here's a few bob to go find your next band’.”

“A record label is not easy to set up. You see people slapping their name on the back of a CD. But it's not structured as a proper label” he insists. While passion is essential, strong organisational skills and a good old-fashioned hard work ethic also have a crucial part to play. “In this day and age, you have to treat your music like a business if you really want to have a chance.” Kiely also emphasises the impact the right team, regardless of size, can have on a label’s success. The fact is that FIFA simply wouldn’t exist today without the energy, drive and unwavering persistence of a very small group of people.

Kiely confesses that challenging the monopoly of massive labels is far from easy, “When we release a single we’re we're competing with major record labels such as Sony and Universal who buy-up much of the advertising spaces in Hot Press and on the radio.” Add to this the heavy restrictions placed on DJs by set playlists making it increasingly difficult for Irish acts to gain exposure in the national media.

It’s not all bad news however. A zealous advocate of social media, Kiely insists that it can provide an effective alternative to costly advertising for bands today. Yet despite the digital revolution much of the work in music PR remains unchanged from the days of Tin-Pan Alley. Kiely admits that he spends much time cold-calling DJs, writers and bloggers: “I might send 100 emails a day and get only five responses. It’s really important to have the will, energy, attitude and the passion in order to get up the next morning to send another 100 emails and get another five responses.” It can take years of sending out CDs, cold-calling and endless emailing to develop a decent list of reliable media contacts. So what’s the trick to getting noticed? It’s quite simple really, “half the battle is in finding a good song and a good band. If the product is strong enough it'll get through.”

For bands looking to get their name out there, Eddie’s advice is pretty basic, “Work hard. For a band, there's so much in this industry that is out of your control – that’s pure luck. It’s important that you are able to manage the things that you can control well. That means dotting every I and crossing every T. You have to be able to cover every angle that you can possibly cover yourself.”

Eddie Kiely may call it luck, but it seems to me that the harder FIFA Records works the more luck they seem to have.