Reggae Sumfest promoter, Johnny Gourzong.
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
THERE ARE tricks to every trade and the music industry, specifically show promotion, is no exception to the rule. Many promoters apply some of these so-called tactics to lure massive audiences to their events.
One of the most widely used strategies is that of false advertising. Promoters sometimes intentionally advertise that an act or acts will appear on their show, knowing that this is not so, since they have not even touched bases with the artistes or their management.
According to Q-45, the manager of Elephant Man, Danny English, Singer J and several others, this devious act has been going on since the 'days of Adam' and apparently has acquired a visa. "Dem do it all the while. Even abroad they advertise the artiste and they are not even booked for the show. It has been going on for years," explained Q-45.
Gadaffi, manager of Merciless and several other upcoming acts, has also seen this. He told The Sunday Gleaner that the problem of false advertising is two-fold. "This happens all the time. Some man tink seh ah fren ting and because the artiste and dem come from the same community or they have been friends for a while they can put their names on posters and advertise them, with the thinking that the artiste will not disrespect them by not showing."
He continued, "Also, right now the music business come een like a hustling. The only difference is that it is legal, so some man just want to know that a particular artiste is hot and can pull a significant number of people, so even if they don't get consent they are going to bill them anyway."
It goes without saying that an act of this sort is not good for the future of stage shows on the island. "It is a fraud ting. It is not good for the business and a lot of people are losing faith in stage shows," stressed Gadaffi.
Johnny Gourzong, a director of Summerfest Productions, promoter of the annual Reggae Sumfest which is in its 10th year and is arguably the biggest reggae festival in the world, says that the miscreants who mislead the spending public will at some point hurt the industry.
"Well, I am sure that the patrons at some point will become apprehensive about spending their money. In the long run it will affect the industry, but for now, the problem lies with the perpetrators, as the people will more than likely choose not to go to an event that is being promoted by that promoter because of his track record," reasoned Mr. Gourzong.
Other than injuring and potentially dismantling the faith of the patrons in live shows, the unfair act also can injure the reputation of the artistes who are used as bait to draw the large crowds which turn up and do not see the entertainer. Ironically, more often than not, the crowd will 'bad-mouth' the promoter, but go home thinking that the artiste has let them down.
This point was accentuated by Gadaffi, who warned that if swift action is not taken to guard against the effects of these false advertisements, the artiste can develop an unwarranted bad reputation.
"More time when a promoter advertise yuh fi a show and yuh know you were not contacted to be a part of it, yuh mus go public and mek it known that you are not booked for that show, as people will label you as a no-show and that will have a negative effect on your career," stated Godaffi.
He added that apart from limiting the number of show promoters who approach the artiste, it can also adversely affect the pulling power of that performer.
The ultimate party which gets affected is the patrons. Putting it mildly, they get a raw deal. Apart from parting with cash that could have been otherwise spent, one has to take into consideration, especially for the ladies, the money spent on fancy attire for an event that promises and does not deliver.
Compensation
If the consumer of the product is being adversely affected, that simply means that something has to be done about the situation. According to Barbara Lee, executive director of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), if the pa-trons lodge complaints to the Commission and are able to prove that the services promised were not provided, "they would be able to bring the promoter to court and the court can impose a fine on the promoter."
However, if the patron is seeking personal compensation, then that avenue will not prove personally lucrative, as the FTC executive director pointed out that the money collected from the fine would go to the Government.
On the other hand, the patrons can take the promoter to face the courts on an individual basis and sue for what is termed as breach of contract. It is said that putting out a flyer or an advertisement can be termed as an invitation and if patrons accept the offer and pay their money, then the promoter is now legally bound to the contract. If he does not live up to his end of the bargain, he makes himself liable for a suit.
"It's a simple breach of contract," noted Nicole Foga of the law firm Foga, Daley and Company. "If the artiste does not show, then they haven't produced what they promised and the patron would be able to sue or report those in question to the Fair Trading Commission," explained the attorney-at-law.
The attorney also stated that the compensation would be the cost of admission to the venue, but usually the amount to be recovered is left up to the judgement of the court.
Artiste's avenues
The artiste can also take legal action against the promoter who advertises them for an event without arrangements being in place. The artiste could file a civil suit on the 'tort of misappropriation of personality' which is when a popular figure is used to promote merchandise or event without authorisation. Attorney-at-law and intellectual property partner at Foga, Daley and Company, Dianne Daley, told The Sunday Gleaner that the tort is relatively new in Jamaican law, but it was successfully used by the Bob Marley Foundation to protect and guard against people gaining from Bob's image without proper authorisation.
Daley went further and said that artistes could better protect themselves from being victims of false advertisements by registering their stage names. It would not eliminate the chances of false advertising, but it would make tackling the matter easier.
"If the artistes get their aliases to be registered trademarks, they could have a course of action against the perpetrators. The artiste could sue for infringement of trademark or passing off," said Daley.
The next step
"Right yah now, everybody affi come together and lick out against it, cause it bad for the artiste's reputation, because the people turn up to see the artiste perform," emphasised Q-45. He added that if lashing out at the perpetrators does not work, the strong arm of the law should be able to do the trick. "We could start taking legal action against the guilty parties, but first of all, I would suggest that all the managers and producers come together and keep a meeting," Gadaffi said.
Gadaffi is of the mindset that totally eradicating the problem will not by a long stretch be an easy feat. "To stamp it out is going to be a problem. Yuh nah go be able to stop dem from doing it. The best way to fight it is to get a law passed to address it," said Gadaffi.
In addition, he said: "The Jamaica Federation of Musicians need to come out and help to sort out the situation and implement some public address to educate all involved about the illegality of such actions and the consequences."
