CALYPSONIANS hoping for bumper sales this Crop-Over season are being robbed by pirates yet again.
Their music is turning up on an Internet website, in most instances within hours of being launched, but in a handful of cases even before being released to local consumers. And new songs are being added daily.
Yesterday, every calypsonian contacted denied giving permission to reproduce their music to the operators of the site.
The website, which provides no information about its operators and nothing on how to contact those connected, has the latest music from "A" [Alison Hinds – Roll] to "Y" [Your Furry Red Friend – Wiggle Wiggle] of Crop-Over 2005, and by just signing up free of cost anyone surfing the site can download the music.
The discovery has left artistes stumped. Li'l Rick, who released three songs on Saturday afternoon and got rave reviews for one called Do Fuh Do, was speechless when told that same song was available on the Internet the same evening.
"That can't be right," Rick told the DAILY NATION. "Just three people had that song after I released it . . . . Not even Peter Coppin who produced it had a copy because he handed me the master and went straight to Trinidad."
Producer Deepu Panjwani, of Music N' Echo, was just as shocked when he discovered Lesir, an uptempo number by Kimberly Inniss, was available on the website. It had not even been released in Barbados yet, he said, even though the artiste recently took it to St Vincent.
He said the song would have cost the artiste about $2 500 to produce and it was most unfortunate that someone else could come along and benefit from it, before the people who invested in it.
One of the most popular local artistes so far this season has been Peter Ram with Fire Controller, Dance Instructions and Don't Be Sheep – which was released only last Friday. All three were available on the website by Saturday morning.
"People were calling me from New York telling me how hot de song [Sheep] was and I couldn't understand why. Now I understand. . . but I don't hurt my head wid dem things; people gine always find a way," he said.
Even when the CD was not available to the public, he said, and the radio DJs talked through a portion of the song, the pirates only needed one clean verse and a chorus and they then cut and spliced to produce a mix that people would buy.
"All I can say is poor people will find a way to survive," Ram said.
Another song available on the site was Injection by Alfred De Doc Sparman, who said he was not even aware of the website. Even worse, he said, was that his work was not available on CD.
"A number of people asked me about putting it on their CDs but I figured I would just let it run for a little while on the radio and then decide. I never gave it to anyone, so I don't understand how any website could have it," Sparman said.
Another popular 2005 Crop-Over track that had only been made available to local radio stations was Captain Sawyer's Big, Fat 'n' Thick, which was to be released on MADD's album. Yesterday, Madd's Peter Boyce had no immediate idea how they would respond.
Sawyer, real name Stephen Grant, was equally disturbed, noting he had spent more than $2 000 on the song.
"How do we fight this? I really don't know right now," Boyce said.
Also available on the site up to yesterday evening were: Bashment Menz's Packing, Blood's Just Bring It, Contone's Fire In De Hole, Jabae's Wopatie [remake of Romeo's Brother Fuzzy] and We Dey Oh, Linskee's You Payin Fuh Me, Mayja Shackie's Tulips, Cocky Attitude and Wuh Bout U, Mikey's Dat Time Again, Mr Dale's One Hand, Natahlee's Colours, Popsicle's Caribbean Queen, Party Time and It's Crop-Over, Rameses Browne's Lean Back featuring Malcolm X and Styles P, Square Roots' Numero Uno and The Key, The Outpatients' Pooch Back and Get Wuk, and Edwin Yearwood's Weekend.
roymorris@nationnews.com
