On Welsh Music Day, Heledd Watkins, the lead singer from HMS Morris, says the Welsh music scene is benefiting from streaming services such as Spotify.
She praised the band Alffa, who were one of the first Welsh bands to reach 1 million plays on Spotify, saying the streaming website is responsible for their music being played all over the world.
As Alffa approach the 2 million plays milestone, Heledd says the the main problem for Welsh language musicians is getting the music out there, especially organising gigs outside Wales.
“It’d be nice to see more gig organisations helping out promoting gigs outside of Wales or just having more gigs that are happening (shown) on YouTube and on telly… it’s about getting gigs that aren’t necessarily Welsh language gigs,” she told CJS News.
Ms Watkins praised the Welsh music scene, especially venues like Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, which is due to be extended to “create a venue fit for the 21 century”.
Clwb Ifor Bach has been hosting live music this afternoon to celebrate Welsh Language Music Day. Elsewhere, others have been doing their bit to support the celebrations. A packed City Arms had Welsh music acts playing after lunchtime. Businesses across the city have also been playing welsh language music to their customers.
Virgin Money is one such organisation. Virgin Cardiff’s events manager, Nia Ramage, says more Welsh language music needs to be shared.
“We have so much great Welsh language music” she said. “It’s about introducing it to customers and colleagues”.
Children from Ninian Park primary school also celebrated the day by welcoming a boombox playing Welsh language music. The boombox has been travelling the country all week and ended its journey today.
