Last week, Taylor Swift shocked the music world when she decided to pull her entire back catalogue of music from the popular music streaming service, Spotify. Her record label cited not wanting fans to feel too embarrassed to buy a copy of Swift's album. "If this fan went and purchased the record, CD, iTunes, wherever, and then their friends go, 'why did you pay for it? It's free on Spotify,' we're being completely disrespectful to that superfan," said boss of Big Machine Label Group Scott Borchetta in a radio interview with Sixx Sense.

However, we're not convinced that's the only reason behind the decision. Spotify offers a free streaming service to its users provided they're happy to listen to a few ads every so often. An ad-free service will cost you €9.99 a month. Royalties are then paid to artists using a particular formula which are usually rather paltry. It's a system which has come under harsh criticism from various artists in recent years, none more so than from Radiohead's Thom Yorke, who claims that the service devalues music.

So, it seems we're faced with the reality that Taylor Swift's music will no longer be as easily accessible. Even though we love her dance moves, listening to her music on Youtube is just a little bit too much effort. Luckily, we have a dearth of new Irish female acts at the moment who will keep us happily distracted. Here's just a handful of them for you to check out.

Wyvern Lingo

Wyvern Lingo are a three-piece from Bray who are making huge waves in Ireland since the release of their debut EP The Widow Knows in September of this year. The girls, two of whom can be seen regularly providing backing vocals to fellow Bray native Hozier are set to play support to the Take Me To Church singer on his upcoming Irish tour. Their EP launch show at the stunning Smock Alley Theatre received rave reviews in the media last month so if you were lucky enough to get tickets to Hozier, make sure you get there early to catch Wyvern Lingo do their thing.


Sorcha Richardson

Sorcha Richardson is a singer/songwriter from Dalkey in Dublin but who currently resides in New York City. She came to our attention with the release of single?I Heart NYC and has continued to impress ever since. Sorcha is known for her brutally honest lyrics which are filled with raw emotion and consistently tug at the heart strings. None more so than in the incredible Midnight Whistle which tells the story of her recovery from thyroid cancer. She has just been granted an artist's visa to stay in the States for a further three years and as such she has no shows scheduled in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled though, Sorcha is not to be missed.

Mongoose

Mongoose are not your typical band. To say the four-piece are quirky would be as much of an understatement as us saying One Direction are doing fairly well for themselves since the X Factor. The girls describe their music as ?an acoustic melty-pot, with flavours of jazz and folk predominating - ?jolk?, if you will, though it's no laughing matter?? Featuring xylophones, a double-bass and occasionally a kazoo, this is music that is just good fun to listen to. You can catch the girls in Whelan's on November 21st as they launch their single The Bottom Line.


Slow Skies

Slow Skies are an indie-folk project formed by Karen Sheridan and Conal Herron after meeting in music college in London in 2011. They create beautifully simplistic atmospheric music which wraps around Sheridan's sumptuous vocals and reels you in. Having played support to James Vincent McMorrow earlier this year, Slow Skies are hoping to push on and release their debut album next year. We can't wait to hear it!

Liza Flume



Ok so we're kind of cheating with this one. Technically Liza Flume isn't Irish, her grandparents live in North Dublin but she was born in Australia and currently resides here so we're proud to call her one of our own. Liza has been making severe inroads in the Irish music scene thanks to her unique sound which she creates using a loop pedal. Liza recently released Sleepless Nights which is the first single to come from her forthcoming EP, expected early next year. It's not likely that Liza will play any gigs in Ireland before the end of the year but we expect a full tour in support of the next EP.

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