More Money for Artistes

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

It seems like we have finally found a minister of information with the gumption to do what the government should have done years ago.

After numerous consultations with stakeholders, the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica has recommended and Minister Sandra Faulkner has accepted a number of proposed amendments to the broadcasting act, to be placed before parliament in this our 50th year of independence. Five of these proposal, if approved, would be a quantum leap forward for the entertainment industry in Jamaica.

One amendment seeks to make playlists mandatory and formally give the collection agencies like Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) and Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) the right to access music sheets to determine how much is owed in royalties to their members. In addition, when it is made into law, as a condition of their license, the act will mandate all media entities to pay royalties to the creators of the music, for the station's use of their works. This is a major milestone because presently, there are too many radio stations and cable networks that are not registered with our collection agencies nor honouring the rights of our creators of musical works to attribution and royalties.

Another new clause will require that all media houses establish a mechanism to receive submissions of recorded music and provide objective vetting and evaluation of all music prior to its being played on air.

After intense lobbying by the entertainment sector lead by Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) -- and the recent unwarranted public abuse on radio of one of our members, Tony Rebel -- finally a grievous practice which has crept into our radio station to which our media managers have cast a blind eye, is to be ameliorated, by a new clause in the act which will prohibit radio disc jockeys who produce their own music, from playing it on their own programmes. Furthermore, the media houses to which these radio disc jocks are affiliated will now be required to regulate how often the music of the connected persons is played on the stations.

Finally, and most important of all, the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica and the minister have agreed to recommend for parliamentary approval, a clause which will expressly make payola an illegal act in Jamaica. Specified fines have also been proposed for breaches of this clause in the amended act.

These are some of the issues that JaRIA, since its inception, and intensified since Reggae Month 2011, has made priority issues in its lobbying and advocacy initiatives and efforts.

The above mentioned five proposed amendments, in their entirety, in addition to others which will now bring cable stations into the loop, if approved by parliament, will modernise our legislation to cover all the new forms of broadcasting. It will also update the definition of broadcasting and streamline the operations of our media houses. The sum effect of the amendments proposed will redress long-standing inequities which are pervasive in our media. They will bring more justice to our creators of music and more money for our Artistes, Producers, Composers, Songwriters, Publishers and Musicians.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com
or
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/More-money-for-artistes_11301903#ixzz1sswcqpgv

ATTRIBUTION AND ROYALITES

Groundins

By: Charles H.E.Campbell

Music is the life-blood of most social events. Musicians and artistes create and produce music for all occasions from birth to death from war to peace, for rites celebrating birthdays, romance and thanksgiving services for our dear departed ones.

Most of our religious, secular, national and climatic seasons and holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Carnival and Independence are commemorated by, and with music. For these reasons, music has become an integral feature of the majority of businesses that provide a space for social interaction and relaxation. The electronic media relies heavily on music as a large component of its daily programming.

Recognizing the important value of all forms of music in giving our life's inner peace, joy and fulfillment, over the years international convention has been established to provide the creators of music with reasonable recompense for their works.

These avenues of income include fees for live performances and appearances, as well as income from the sales of their musical products and merchandise.

In recent times, modern technology and the current worldwide recession have conspired to reduce income earned by artistes from these two main income streams. While the technological revolution has allowed consumers easier and timely access to musical works of their favoured artistes and musical groups, it has simultaneously reduced the artistes' income from physical sales of their products. Secondly, the frequency of live events has a decrease globally.

There is a third source of income however, in which Jamaica is guilty of lagging behind much of the rest of the world. In order for us to preserve Jamaica's rich musical legacy and save the music for the future, we must make positive changes towards reasserting and respecting the legal rights of artistes, with respect to attribution and royalties for musical works which are used in public places and by the mass media.

In practical terms, what this means is that the operators of nightclubs, restaurants, bars, hotels, radio and television stations, including cable companies and networks , sound systems operators, promoters of live events including concerts, stages shows, dances, barbecues and even fundraising events for charity purposes must begin to take seriously and honour their legal obligations to register with, and pay the appropriate fees to, our local collection agencies -- Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP) and Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) which protect mainly the interests of our producers.

In so doing, Jamaica will improve its commitments under international conventions and more importantly will provide the practitioners with the means and motivation to continue to produce the type and quality of musical works for which we are the envy of the world.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com
or
Read at: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Attribution-and-royalties_11271897and-royalties_11271897