Photo by Krista Henry
Record producer Shane Brown in studio. A new collections society was launched this week, whose job is to track down royalties for producers and label owners whose works are used by others without compensation.
A new collections society, whose membership covers the holders of master recordings, is estimating that in five years it should secure at least $50 million to $60 million in compensation for members.
But those estimates, said Evon Mullings, general manger of the Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS), are constrained only by the current membership in the six-month-old non-profit group.
As members join, and JAMMS begins to police use of their copyrighted property, collections should grow Mullings said.
JAMMS kicked off in May. The society estimates its first year of operation will run $10 million to $11 million, but Mullings said much of that investment is one-off start-up costs, and that the agency should emerge with a more moderate budget in its second year.
The non-profit group says its financing is expected to come from the funds collected on behalf of members. After costs, the rest will be distributed to the rights owners.
"Our members are the owners of master recordings," said chairman Haldane Browne at Tuesday night's launch, naming major international labels, independents and local and foreign independents among them.
This means that JAMMS collects on behalf of music producers.
Essentially, its job is administering "the broadcasting and public performance rights granted under the Copyright Act to sound recording copyright owners (SCROs)", says its brochure.
SCROs, Mullings added, are owners of master recordings, which are normally individual record producers, record labels, and record companies.
"We do not, at this stage, administer rights on behalf of performers," he told the Financial Gleaner.
"However, if the performers/ artistes are themselves producers or owners of labels then we represent them in that capacity."
Rights
Throughout, it was made clear that the rights which JAMMS will collect for are different from the publishing rights which organisations such as the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) look after.
JAMMS was incorporated in July 2006, but only became operational in May.
"There are revenues out there, both local and foreign, which we are ready to collect on your behalf," said Browne in a plug for new members.
"We want to collect revenue from any and every end user that plays music," he said, naming radio stations, hotels, bars and sound systems among the users.
Mullings said the society would also be granting licences for the use of sound recordings in broadcasts and public performances and collect royalties for such use.
"JAMMS understands that the concept of getting a licence may take some getting used to," he said, likening the use of someone's music without paying to a person's car being stolen and then seeing it being operated as a taxi.
"Someone has taken your property and is using it for profit," said the general manager.
Emilio Garcia, the Latin America representative of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), welcomed JAMMS into its fold as the 60th collection organisation for producers in the world.
"We have 1,400 members and we are very happy to see that Jamaica now has legislation that protects producers," he said.
"IFPI will be here to assist JAMMS in whatever technical and lobbying issues may arise," Garcia said.
Similarly, Carol Simpson, acting executive director of the Jamaica International Property Office (JIPO), said her agency would be working with JAMMS, while Minister of Information, Youth and Culture Olivia Grange said the launch of JAMMS could be the beginning of a fulfilment of her dream "of a properly-organised music industry".
"Reggae is a brand name, Jamaica is a brand name, but we have to be more organised to get the respect we should," said Grange.
Membership in JAMMS is free of cost.
business@gleanerjm.com
Source: Financial Gleaner, Friday, November 30, 2007
