Music, film and fashion are to be the main beneficiaries of an ambitious thrust to be initiated by the Government, piloted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. A blueprint was unveiled on October 30 at Queen’s Hall by Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon when her ministry and The T&T Music Company Limited (MusicTT) hosted a National Stakeholder Engagement and Key MusicTT Implementation Projects event.
Aside from the minister articulating some of the main proponents of the plan, she was supported by MusicTT chairman John Arnold, general manager Jeanelle Frontin, CreativeTT chairman Calvin Bijou and MusicTT directors Francis Escayg and Martin Raymond.
MusicTT intends to implement four flagship projects which will serve to advance the entertainment sector, beginning in this fiscal year. They are a Live Music District, The Artist Portfolio Development Programme (APDP), a Music Export Academy and a Music Tech Platform, the latter hopefully addressing complaints by local recording artistes about the paucity of local music content on the airwaves.
In her address Gopee-Scoon said: “The Music Tech Platform will seek to address one of the pressing challenges which you, as dedicated music practitioners, have identified: the issue of local content promotion, for which the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts has the primary lead.
“Concerns have been raised regarding the Copyright Management organisations and existing Copyright Laws in the protection, exploitation and monetisation of music. Following the well-subscribed Workshop this year titled Making a Living from Music, a collaboration between MusicTT, and the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, in particular the Intellectual Property Office, with support from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), I am confident that these matters are receiving attention.
“The Music Tech Platform is focused on developing systems in the immediate term that can support the industry in fulfilling its most critical needs.
“As such, the Music Tech Platform will be technologically capable of independently monitoring broadcast media in order to quantitatively ascertain the amount of local content currently being played on our radio stations.
“We need to enable the independent, entrepreneurial artist by giving them the power to manage their music. As such, artists will be able to upload their catalogues, have them audio-fingerprinted through the platform, and will have detailed access to every instance that their music is broadcast on our nation’s airwaves.
“MusicTT will be charged with accurately assessing the statistical state of local content broadcasting and will begin the drive towards accurate radio charting of our local music.”
Another initiative which caused stakeholders to sit up and take notice is the establishment of the country’s first Live Music District, the pilot which will be launched on March 1, 2018 and will be located from Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, to the Queen’s Park Savannah.
The minister said: “This Live Music District begins in the city of Port-of-Spain and will create the performance spaces and revenue influx needed for a robust and sustainable music industry.” She added that within the proposed space there are a large number of existing, bustling venues that are primed for live music. The Live Music District is deliberately scheduled after the Carnival season which already boasts of a high number of live performances. The district will seek to create a vibrant live music scene for the rest of the year.
The minister continued: “A partnership has been created with the Trinidad Hotel Restaurants and Tourism Association in order to gain the buy-in of the spaces and to co-ordinate venue assessments. To date, site visits have been conducted with over 25 restaurants, lounges and hotels in the city and these will continue in the weeks to come. These site visits focus on detailing the key characteristics of each venue through a proper sound and performance analysis that includes an assessment of the acoustics, audio system, electrical accessibility, space capacity, venue dynamics and purpose, and the venues’ current suitability for various types of live performances. No amount of attention to detail will be spared in ensuring its proper execution, and we have welcomed the City of Port-of-Spain, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts as well as the Ministry of Tourism in our joint approach and commitment to the success of this creative, cultural and entertainment hub.”
With government seemingly serious about diversifying the nation’s economy, Gopee-Scoon reaffirmed the Government’s support of the creative industries as a priority sector in the national diversification thrust. “This prioritisation is indeed warranted as the creative industry possesses great potential to generate increased revenue and employment, earn foreign exchange and create export opportunities in international markets for creative products and services,” the minister stated.
Her sentiments were echoed by CreativeTT chairman Calvin Bijou who said: “As a nation, our sustained economic well-being rests with effective diversification; and effective diversification rests with clear, thoughtful and deliberate strategy.”
The Ministry of Trade and Industry is mandated to develop globally competitive businesses to contribute to the sustainable growth and diversification of the economy, and to expand
exports, particularly in the Non-Energy sector. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is also focusing on the Orange Economy—that is, the contribution of the creative industries to economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB reports that in 2015, the sector generated more than $124 billion in revenues and provided jobs to more than 1.9 million people in the LAC region.
“It is crucial for T&T to capitalise on this growth,” said Gopee-Scoon. “The role of CreativeTT and its subsidiary MusicTT is, therefore, pivotal in preparing the local music sector for international market penetration. The first and most critical priority in this preparation is the bridging of the identified industry gaps to ensure the music sector is being built upon a strong foundation.”
The minister added that based on the Music Professionals Survey conducted in April 2017 through MusicTT, there was a call by stakeholders for a sustainable industry that champions and protects diversity. Upon analysis of the survey’s results, five major challenges were raised.
In her address she itemised these challenges.
“Through envisioning the future of the music industry of T&T, MusicTT’s implementation projects for this fiscal year 2018 are a direct strategic response to the most critical success factors identified by the industry’s stakeholders. These four flagship projects will serve to build and strengthen the sectoral infrastructure to support the independent artist’s path to self-actualisation.”
The Artist Portfolio Development Programme is another flagship initiative that will be implemented in this fiscal year beginning with the inaugural Music Showcase in December 2017. In its inception it will facilitate at least 20 artistes who show the potential of being equipped and ready to have their talents exported. The selected artistes will be trained through the third flagship initiative (the Music Export Academy) in music business and entertainment law training, brand and artist development, stage presence and performance training, pitching strategies, developing business and marketing plans, developing a robust online presence, and monetising music intellectual property.
Gopee-Scoon said that this initiative should unearth at least 50 to 100 artistes equipped to pioneer this global thrust.
Speaking at the Queen’s Hall event, MusicTT general manager Jeanelle Frontin outlined the implementation timelines and expected outcomes for each flagship project, beginning as early as December 2017 with a public music showcase; the first stage in the Artist Portfolio Development Programme.
Frontin also spoke to the importance of working together to ensure industry success. “We aren’t doing this alone. We are doing this collaboratively with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and the city of Port-of-Spain.
“We are not working in a silo anymore. We are all going to work together to ensure that this music industry becomes more successful,” Frontin urged stakeholders.
In rounding off her address Gopee-Scoon said: “Collectively, these four flagship projects will begin to fill the gaps upon which we can build a sustainable, lucrative and successful local music sector. In closing, I emphasise the Government’s commitment to creating this enabling environment that is needed for continuous growth. I invite you to join us on this exciting journey.”