The Eastern Caribbean Collective Organisation for Music Rights (ECCO) Inc has filed legal action against several major music users who have failed to comply with ECCO mandate as the Collective Management Organisation for the Eastern Caribbean region in compliance with Copyright Law.
It is estimated that well over $1 million Eastern Caribbean dollars in back royalties is owed to ECCO by three regionally-based companies including;Kelcom International trading as Karib Cable headquartered in St. Vincent & the Grenadines and operating also in Saint Lucia and Antigua & Barbuda.
Dominica’s Cable Company Marpin 2k4 Limited and the Cinema Group, Caribbean Cinemas, operating in multiple Caribbean states, are all being sued.
ECCO is currently pursuing action against 32 entities across the OECS.
ECCO’s General Manager Steve Etienne says: “ECCO is unable to achieve its business objective due to the non compliance by businesses whose use of music is central to their operation. By flagrantly breaking the law or attempting to circumvent their responsibilities as good corporate organizations they are prohibiting ECCO reaching its mandate and must either comply or stop using ECCO’s repertoire of musical works.”
ECCO is taking the accelerated action against abusers of the rights it administers in response to repeated requests from members and affiliate partners for tougher action. Whilst it is acknowledged that many ECCO members live close to or below the poverty level and can barely make a living from music, organisations like the companies being sued by ECCO continue to grow their businesses from the music content provided by ECCO members and affiliates overseas.
doe worry it have more to come. i patiently waiting
Mac hungry!! allu doe seeing that then, first lady of song ain’t making money, no tours,no gigs..
But the radio stations already paying ECCO.So Ecco wants double pay,what a double whammy.
Hey DNO be careful!! Soon these vultures are coming after you!! Even though you are only trying to promote the youtube videos of young artists (Who, by the way, are the one who contact you to air their music) Isn’t this really ironic and ridiculous!!!!
Your’e right, we are thinking of banning this feature totally. Good for the artistes because they are not speaking up. These videos are being aired free of charge yet ECCO come at us for royalties; such an unfair world but the good suffers for the bad.
@Admin
You beating around the bush here. You air thoses videos also to attract folks to your site. The more clicks you get, the more money you can gather in from those advertisers and promoters. This is business, not charity.
You write an article and expect licence fee if someone puts it up on their site. That why you always print this here……..
Copyright 2011 Dominica News Online, Andrews Publishing Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
bashing around on ECCO is not fair. They may be a pain in the a++ with all that legal carry on, but they all the musicians got left to earn some cash in the new media. Those guys can’t live of their live shows on small Islands like ours.
I am not beating around the bush. The artistes would have to otherwise pay at least $1,000 EC a week to have their music videos advertised on the site. Instead, they don’t have to pay anything. I give it to them free. We do not have a pay-per-click system like Google. If that was the case we would be millionaires. Yet, another uninformed assuming Dominican. Our traffic is at the highest ever and we still aren’t garnering the amount of advertising we should, so getting more traffic does not necessarily translate into advertising dollars. It depends on the financial health of the media market and the saturation. A lot of the artistes are sending us videos because elsewhere they would have to PAY TO HAVE IT POSTED. So why should we post the video and their music free then they end up suing us? Does this make sense. Not because there is a law means that it is fair and righteous. That law ECCO is “banking” will soon be demolished because it will cripple the entertainment industry and create animosity between media owners and musicians. Mark my word. Playing artistes music on my site does not bring a lot of extra traffic – believe it or not.
OK Admin. You have a good point here and now I understand you business better. But your problem is not ECCO. ECCO don’t make them copyright laws, they only defending their members interest. In your case, a well ment regulation has become a burden to all involved. But if they were to scrap the regulation, all on internet would claim they are earning nothing through music, even those who are earning millions. But even so – lobbys like ECCO should make sure they are promoting their members and not harming them.
This is some real complicated commercial law material we have here. And its even more complicated because of all the new factors and loopholes created by the internet media. Maybe in this case, the problem is that the videos of the artists you help out are You-Tube. You-Tube is focused on earning money with music and other videos and all Lobby like ECCO are after them. Your artists must send in “private” videos. I know this works with large copyright lobbys like German GEMA. Tell your artists to find out if ECCO subscribes to this? It’s their business, they should take care of it. And by the way – If you put them up for free, why don’t they organize a DON openair every once in a while? Its ood for them , good for you and good for the Island.
To all the DA musicians, how many of you guys have rceieved a cent from Mac Marie or ECCO? Be honest. This is just a bunch of lazy guys looking to leave off the sweat of others. I say this nonsense must stop otherwise we may just go back to the dark ages without any fun entertainment since all the entertainment business organizations from radio, tv to cinemas may just close their doors, and guess what? The so-called broke artists (musicians) will now be DEAD BROKE!!
Mac Marie and his coherts especally mac Marie proves that one picket does not like to have his pocket picked by a next picket . But what is good for one is good for the other. I know because we shared the same womb
Me self, I doh want pay more for Tv so all you can as well drop doze channels dem with all doze waste of time music.
but how caribbean cinemas get in that mix, ecco making movies too, because according to my knowledge is just a movies chain they be (caribbean cinemas) across the caribbean ….
http://www.caribbeancinemas.com/Default.aspx?SecId=11
Because everytime a song gets played in a movie someone gets paid son…usually its the songwriter and the producer…unless the singer has some clount and ask for a piece of the pie too…
I am not happy that a Dominican company gets sued, but law is law. Especially when money is involved. Marping running their mouth and charging people more money to make profits, so they should pay up and shut up. I cannot wait for LIME or someone else to come and offer real television service, rather than the sub standard pirate content that we getting for all that money. Infact, I would not even mind paying more for something better!
Tripple kay is pure garbage,don’t know where dat coming in but I felt the urge to say it
That copyright laws is what’s killing Caribbean music. There are too many restrictions on our music. And half of the music they are forcing about is poorly arranged by substandard so called musicians.
Sorry, but that’s a silly comment aye. The very opposite is true.
If you want good standard music, those good standard musicians need to be payed for their work and costs. Those good studios cost thousands of dollars a day. If everyone goes downloading, copying their music, they go broke. When, as in this case, big companies like cinemas or clubs use their music to make a business, they must pay the musician.
Its just like in real life here. The small guy does the work and the rich guy with the “business” earn the money. I say – ECCO go get them and burn their a++.
you mean big guys like ECCO when last did they make a payment to the artiste.it seem they like what you do cause they are the only ones benefiting from this deal.let us just recall the last one day held in Dominica when the so called mac marie prevented w.c.k from playing their own music until this fee was paid w.c.k could not showcase themselves,music or c.d. therefor the profits that these guys make on the Caribbean artiste is peanuts compared to the road side guys so who is the bigger parasite.
Well said……
Be real rawb.
An organization like ECCO can only be as good as the artists involved.
Without the likes of ECCO the artists have no chance to get any kind of money out of todays music business. The days when the artist put out records through a label are over. That music is now on the net and everyone is profiting apart from the artist. To stand up against the likes of YOU-TUBE, Facebook or Apple, you need a strong, professional organisation with a first class legal team.
So it up to the artists to make sure that the likes of ECCO are taking care of their interrests.
tell it to them again my brother
It’s the nobel thing to do, pay the poor artists for use of their music. Period!