Cooper AS THE issues of copyright continue to rise around the world and the various industry players jockey for position, Jamaican songwriters are joining in. On Wednesday morning, the Jamaica Songwriters Guild was launched at the offices of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) on Braemar Avenue, New Kingston.
The guild was launched through the concerted efforts of Scott-Anderson and Associates Limited and JAMPRPO. Scott-Anderson and Associates is a public relations company which also specialises in event co-ordination and conference planning.
Both companies are related to the origins of the newly-founded guild. The decision to form a songwriters guild came out of the annual 'Songwriters Bootcamp', which is held by Scott-Anderson and Associates. Chief executive officer of Scott Anderson and Associates, Marjorie Scott-Anderson, explained that at the end of each Bootcamp, participants usually want to find out how they can sustain the momentum of the camps.
MOMENTUM
The decision to form the guild come out of a desire to sustain this momentum, she explained. Scott-Anderson noted that the formation of such a body for songwriters will help to secure their rights. She explained that the guild can represent their concern to the decision makers. "Songwriters have the potential to become a force in the entertainment industry," Scott-Anderson argued.
The guild also intends to offer the elements of the songwriters' Bootcamp, focusing on building the songwriting craft. "What we want to influence is the quality as well as the content," Scott-Anderson pointed out. She maintained that through its efforts, the guild intends to elevate songwriting so that people can see it as an viable career alternative.
OBJECTIVES
In a release sent to The Gleaner, six objectives of the guild were laid out:
To promote the enhancement of the skills of songwriters in Jamaica through education, training, exposure and the inculcation of positive attitudes to self-development.
To promote the equitable rights and welfare of the members of the guild working in Jamaica and overseas.
To establish and maintain a 'Code of Conduct' for songwriters to ensure that professional standards prevail on the entertainment scene and that the paramountcy of the audience is consistently upheld.
To foster co-operation within the Jamaican songwriting fraternity and between that fraternity and its counterparts in Jamaica and overseas.
To advocate fair and equitable treatment of the songwriting sector in the determination of public policy as it relates to culture and entertainment and greater state and corporate support for the development and sustenance of songwriting.
To advocate improvements in entertainment facilities and the conditions under which songwriters work.
The guild is headed by a steering committee chaired by Alwin Bully. Seven additional persons, Marjorie Scott-Anderson, Carol Simpson, Desmond Moulton, Beverley Reynolds, Mikey Bennett, Ibo Cooper and Janet Smith, complete the committee.
