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Fiona Ritchie

Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom

Hello friends! I'm revisiting over 40 years of The Thistle & Shamrock® by re-releasing episodes from my radio archives, streaming each week on Mixcloud. Follow/subscribe here and you won't miss any episodes.
The story so far: as host of NPR's The Thistle & Shamrock®, I presented a weekly hour of new and traditional Celtic and roots music. Radio stations across the US aired the show, and I loved connecting with you each week. Now you can access years of classic original radio shows here, including award-winning conversations with singers, songwriters, and music legends. Do subscribe so you'll be sure to hear what's planned and check out our website at https://www.thistleradio.com
Did you know?: my ThistleRadio music channel on SomaFM was awarded Mixcloud's Online Radio Award for "Best Music Show: Country-Folk-Blues"? So this is the perfect home for The Thistle & Shamrock digital archive.
Find out more about my radio work and other projects at thistleradio.com (link below).

A note on streaming...

A note on streaming...

by Fiona Ritchie

For anyone who loves music, the joy of binge playing favourite artists and discovering an endless selection of new ones is just what we've come to expect nowadays. But for the musicians, the financial compensation coming back to them from Spotify, Apple Music etc is really poor. Artists are standing up to streaming platforms and campaigning to get paid fairly. Meanwhile, we should all make sure we purchase music we love when we have a chance. This could be at concerts where artists sell CDs and download cards with links to their digital content. Or we can download music directly from our favourite artists' own websites, or via an online music store like Bandcamp. Make sure you understand where your money goes whenever you invest in music so you can make informed decisions about streaming platforms. For example, Mixcloud pays royalties to artists and rights holders for music streamed on the platform through a licensed streaming model. Great musicians deserve our support!

New show upcoming full of classic Celtic tracks. Follow my stream of archive radio shows of The Thistle & Shamrock® (and share with Celtic music fans) at: https://www.mixcloud.com/FionaRitchie/

Comments

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rexcollins

Last summer, at a Cherish the Ladies show, they sold me a pretty little white USB flashdrive loaded with hours of their great music. Great product, reasonable price, and all the cash went to the artists and their organization.

Fiona Ritchie

Sounds great. Joanie and Cherish have always been at the forefront of bringing their music to fans and packaging it beautifully through the years and formats.

Christopher Donald

Fiona- thank you for underlining my biggest concern about the music industry. I strongly prefer download music, though I miss the copious liner notes, which for Celtic music may include, a history lesson along with who taught the performer the song, and who performs on the track. I personally refuse to subscribe to Spotify, pandora, Google or Apple Music.

I know that sharing wonderful shows like T&S is difficult with issues around royalties, but I deeply appreciate that you, in your “dotage” are making your shows available.

Fiona Ritchie

Thanks Christopher. We are like minded on this. I know lots of independent artists who don't provide their music on Spotify etc. As for downloads, they are definitely more environmentally friendly and versatile but I do miss those liner notes/booklets. Glad you are enjoying these archive shows provided via Mixcloud. It's fun to re-visit them.

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