Barbadian entertainers have been put on notice about international promoters who may be looking to book their talents for a steal.
Chief Executive Officer of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) Erica Smith threw out this caution, especially to emerging artistes, who she said are applying for more travel permits.
“Before, promoters would send the contract, pay a deposit, and that contract would include fees, per diem, accommodation and travel. But what I’ve been told that’s been happening is that, especially around Labour Day, artistes would find themselves going up and then try to get a booking.
“So while I’m heartened to see the younger artistes seeking assistance for work permits, I do have some broader concerns about the number and type of opportunities available. And unless the artiste works with someone who knows to look out for things like per diem and other arrangements, they may not know,” Smith said.
During the interview with The Nation, she also noted a decline in the number of overseas royalties paid out to local acts. She suggested that this could be due to the decrease in the number of Barbadian promoters.
“If we look at royalty earnings specifically, that money coming in from abroad has declined a fair amount. . . and when you speak to practitioners, there are less live performance opportunities.
“We’ve been told that people are being paid basically the same way and the same rates they were paid in the 1990s, and the fact that there are very few Barbadian promoters in those markets does not help. Before, you had more Barbadian promoters who would actively seek the participation of Barbadian artistes, but this is no longer the case,” Smith said. (TG)
