BARBADOS DID NOT record US$9 million in music sales in 2011 as was recently reported by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
Chief executive officer of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP), Erica Smith, told the WEEKEND NATION that the figure was the total recorded by the IFPI for Central America and the Caribbean, including sales for the former and performance rights for the latter.
“The $9 million was incorrectly applied to each country on page 41 of the report,” Smith informed, noting also that the $9 million was from 2009 and not 2011. The 2011 figure was US$7.3 million for the region (Central America and Caribbean), and the most recent figure (2012) is US$8.1 million.
“The Caribbean is a small fraction of those figures because the figures represent licensing and sales from Central America and licensing only from the Caribbean.
“Because IFPI doesn’t have sales figures from us, they report from Barbados and the other Caribbean islands what we [COSCAP] do, which is licensing. The $9 million was therefore the total amount for the region,” Smith explained.
Noting she was not aware of the IFPI study, whose US$9 million figure for Barbados was published in the last SUNDAY SUN, she said it was clear the federation had taken a macro approach to the study.
She said IFPI had sourced the Barbados Statistical Service, the Division of Economic Affairs and Development, and Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, but did not have information for film, television and audio, advertising, entertainment software, art and craft or fashion, but had data for the performing arts, patents and regional data for music.
“So, in terms of information that’s really detailed for our creative sector, you see that obviously the sources were limited . . .
“The challenges or weaknesses that have always been identified as far as Barbados’ creative sector is concerned is lack of statistical data and having that reporting done. It’s something that has to be addressed,” she said.
Smith added that the four per cent of GDP mentioned by the IFPI in relation to Barbados’ creative sector was “plausible”.
She said Jamaica had commissioned its own study and the contribution of its creative sector to GDP was 4.81 per cent, while Trinidad and Tobago’s was 4.8.
“Given those figures, therefore, it might be plausible for us but without an in-depth, on-the-ground study, I’m not sure how accurate it is,” she said of the IFPI report. (RJ)
