New ECLAC study explores film and music sectors of Jamaica
Experts across the region agree that there is significant potential for strengthening the economic contribution of the music and film industries in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. However, this can only be fully realized by learning from industry success factors and, more importantly, by addressing existing constraints.
These findings emerged from a newly published study from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on “The Film and Music Sectors in Jamaica: Lessons from Case Studies of Successful Firms/Ventures”. The study assesses the difficulties, lessons learnt and success factors which have strengthened the global competitiveness of the Caribbean’s film and music sectors.
Success factors in the Caribbean’s music industry have centred on strengthening awareness and capacity in the collection of royalties. In addition, the industry has also succeeded in creating new revenue streams through the promotion of extensive touring by artistes and the pursuit of aggressive merchandise campaigns.
These successes notwithstanding, the music and film industries remain stifled by the absence of national and regional legislative and regulatory frameworks geared at fostering innovation, knowledge-based training of industry practitioners, and at generating the innovative financing necessary to increase competitiveness and sustainability.
In this regard, inadequate financing remains the most crucial challenge being faced by the creative industries in the Caribbean. This is in addition to song and script writing, marketing, and the distribution aspects of the music and film sectors, all of which represent major bottlenecks that need to be addressed in order to advance the development of the creative industries across the region.
Against this backdrop, ECLAC’s study explores the plight of music experts and film producers, and provides suggestions for the way forward. The study proposes that public-private partnership arrangements be designed so that governments may share some of the risks of financing films. For the music industry, the study recommends an upgraded training programme in music writing, as well as a reconsideration of the music distribution, marketing and exhibition channels.
For further information, please contact Alexander Voccia at [email protected] or Denise Balgobin at [email protected]. Telephone: (868) 224-8067/224-8075.
“Success factors in the Caribbean’s music industry have centered on strengthening awareness and capacity in the collection of royalties ” Completely agree with your line.I’m currently working on the f# minor nocturne! they’re beautiful pieces.Don’t get me wrong, you have to be strong and confident to be successful in just about anything you do – but with music, there’s a deeper emotional component to your failures and successes. If you fail a chemistry test, it’s because you either didn’t study enough, or just aren’t that good at chemistry (the latter of which is totally understandable). But if you fail at music, it can say something about your character. It could be because you didn’t practice enough – but, more terrifyingly, it could be because you aren’t resilient enough. Mastering chemistry requires diligence and smarts, but mastering a piano piece requires diligence and smarts, plus creativity, plus the immense capacity to both overcome emotional hurdles, and, simultaneously, to use that emotional component to bring the music alive.Before I started taking piano, I had always imagined the Conservatory students to have it so good – I mean, for their homework, they get to play guitar, or jam on their saxophone, or sing songs! What fun! Compared to sitting in lab for four hours studying the optical properties of minerals, or discussing Lucretian theories of democracy and politics, I would play piano any day.
But after almost three years of piano at Orpheus Academy, I understand just how naïve this is. Playing music for credit is not “easy” or “fun” or “magical” or “lucky.” Mostly, it’s really freakin’ hard. It requires you to pick apart your piece, play every little segment over and over, dissect it, tinker with it, cry over it, feel completely lame about it, then get over yourself and start practicing again. You have to be precise and diligent, creative and robotic. And then – after all of this – you have to re-discover the emotional beauty in the piece, and use it in your performance.