Vice President of the Association of Music Professionals (AMP), Daryl Bobb, has called on business people, lawyers and bankers to increase their knowledge of the music industry and what it entails to know exactly how to deal with situations involving musicians/artistes.
Speaking at a press conference held on Thursday afternoon, Bobb said that the industry in itself is a very “sophisticated business” and so, all aspects must be known.
“It involves a lot of different things that you actually have to have a special training for you to venture into it and the AID Bank agreed that most of their loan officers wouldn’t know. It’s as if a guy is coming for a loan for a business that you have absolutely no clue about,” he said.
The government has promised to place $1-million at the AID Bank to be made available to musicians and others in the music industry.
Bobb added that because of lack of knowledge of the industry, the Association has sat with members of the AID Bank and went through various aspects of the music business.
“They contacted us, we sat with them and offer them some advice and we told them we will do training for them because they did not have the time to come to the training in September being very busy people. So we said we would do an in-house training for them,” Bob said.
Bobb said that is very important for the business people to get an understanding of the industry and if so, musicians and business persons alike will “have an opportunity to go out and tap into those funds.”
“We encourage business people a lot because really the musician, the creator, or the creative, should not be the one doing his own business and we encourage business accountants, lawyers, to go out there and study these things because there is a lot of potential in this. There is bigger opportunity in there and you can set up your own publishing companies, booking agent company, and that is what we really want to see happen,” he remarked.
Music people must learn to make music that make sense. Music that business people can lend an ear to.
We heard about this money in 2014. Why are we talking about it again in 2017. Has it not served it desired purpose.
Im a bit confused with this story.
Business is business so it is difficultnto see why the bank employees need to betrained to understand the musis industrt.
Secondly, why should a businessman invest and study music industry?
It appears that up and coming musicians need to invest in their area of interst. If I want to be a doctor, I go out and study medicine.
Its time that musicians in dominica stop waiting on the government and private sector to do things for them. They need.to go out there and get things done for themselves and their passion.
Bobb invest in music yourself. You run and make Skerrit take Amp for a political ride . Shame
I do not profess to be a music professional, however I would like to see more collaboration between our local artist and other music professionals from the wider Caribbean and beyond. I can name a litany of successful musicians and performers, who have traveled to far places off the beaten path, because they learned of an indigenous group’s ancient percussions that later found its way on one of their albums, because it was something different and unique. On it’s own, locally produced music will not reach the international market and enjoy a high level of success, without collaborations from other artist. We do not have a “Frankie McIntosh” at home to arrange locally produced music. And that is a key ingredient that’s missing.
We would like the musician to be free to find indigenous percussion and to collaborate, but if he wants food on the table, then indeed someone must pursue the business end; not just arranging (which increasingly can be done at home) but ADVERTISING so that receptive listeners are aware of the musician. Advertising is why artists sell their creative souls to a record label. Is it accomplished by giving $1 million to the AID Bank with the rosy intention of building up the music industry? Or does that money buy the musician a new instrument with which to coax out that final 2% of nuance, while listeners remain unaware of his work?
Bob, get a grip pal.
The banking business is about making loans that they have a fairly high degree of confidence will be repaid. How many musicians in Dominica can you point to who really and truly make a good living off the music industry?
none. too many hands in the pot when someone trying to make a dollar plus the music association crippling the island artists, the young stars are afraid of exposing their true talents because of political oppression. Crabs in a barrel have the tendency to lot of music or noise, but who is really listening or paying attention?