The severe Covid-19 impact on the global live music industry sent profits tumbling at Glen Hansard's entertainment firm last year.
According to new accounts, the Oscar winning singer-songwriter's Plateau Records Ltd recorded a post tax profit of €25,895 in the 12 months to the end of November last.
This represents a 70 per cent drop on the profits of €93,409 for the prior year.
At the end of November last, the company was sitting on accumulated profits of €1.328 million.
The accounts show that the artist — who left school at the age of 13 to go busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street — shared directors’ pay of €203,853 last year including pension contributions of €8,000.
This represented a 28.5 per cent drop on directors’ pay of €285,000 that included pension contributions of €24,000 for 2019.
Cash
The cash pile at the company last year increased marginally from €896,685 to €904,378.
Like all performers across the live music industry, Hansard has had his income from live performance decimated since March of last year with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic here.
The year under review covers the first nine months of the pandemic where Covid brought down a shut-down of the live music industry.
According to the singer songwriter’s website, Hansard is due to join old colleagues in The Frames for a number of dates in the US in September. The northsider first shot to prominence with The Frames over 25 years ago.
Hansard serves on the board of Plateau Records Ltd with Claire Leadbitter.
The firm’s wealth comprises of tangible assets with a book value of €352,646 and financial assets of €100,000 along with current assets made up of the cash and money owed by debtors of €27,167.
Busking
Hansard busked on Grafton Street for five years as a teenager and in a press interview, the singer remarked on his time busking on Grafton Street “that was the only education I’ve ever needed”.
Ballymun native, Hansard achieved world-wide fame in 2008 when he and then girlfriend, Marketa Orgliva won an Oscar for the world wide hit 'Falling Slowly' from the film Once.
The musical, written by Dubliner, John Carney has since gone on to perform on Broadway, the West End and win eight Tony awards.
