The need for a more organised approach to development was the consensus when a small group of musicians, producers and other stakeholders met to chart the future of the local music industry.
Burchmore Simon
At a symposium at the Guyana International Convention Centre, organized in the lead up to Accolade – The Music Awards of Guyana, producer Burchmore Simon called for a collective effort to develop local music and help it gain a firm foothold internationally, while protecting the rights of musicians.
With only around two dozen people there, Simon, who is part of the team organizing the awards, was disappointed. He explained that without active participation by all stakeholders there coukld be no progress. He said while the industry comprises individuals, it is essential to unite as one force to push ahead. “Without organisation [we] cannot move forward,” he said, pointing out that a collective front would help to create a place for the government as well as corporate citizens to channel resources needed to develop the music business.
In this regard, he welcomed the setting up of institutions like the Music Industry Association of Guyana and the Association for the Advancement of Guyanese Entertainment, saying they are both essential to promoting local music and the treatment of performers. The need for these bodies to align themselves with similar organisations across the world, like Record Industry Association of America, in order to gain credibility, was also emphasised.
Simon painted a stark picture of the global music industry, which continues to suffer huge losses to piracy through illegal peer-to-peer file sharing and downloads. There is the saturation of the market — with more than 6,000 singles produced every month all over the world vying for airplay. In the region, he said the dominance of North American music on the airwaves continues to be a major challenge. He noted that in Trinidad and Tobago, calypsonians regularly complain that they only get airplay during the annual carnival celebrations; while in Guyana studios produce a large volume of work during the annual Mashramani celebrations also face the same problem. (In fact, while Simon noted the state-run NCN radio has agreed to play more local music, many of the musicians on hand felt that one hour a day was not enough.) Minister of Tourism Manniram Prashad, who was present at the symposium, said it was one problem facing the industry that was a quick fix and he promised to help.) The role of local bands in promoting the catalogues of their peers at live shows was also underscored and Simon said Kross Kolor Records would be promoting the work of Guyanese artists.
The need for updated copyright legislation to protect musicians from widespread piracy was the elephant in the room and the participants were not shy about venting their frustrations with the negligible protection that is currently offered by the law. One participant mentioned finding a pirated copy of his work at the Giftland store and being told matter-of-factly that there is nothing he could do about it. Simon said the industry needs to take the initiative and show criminals that it is serious about protecting its work. Immediately, he said, musicians need to continue to test the laws already in place. Although he acknowledged that the fines and penalties were minimal, he said it is important symbolically and may help to further the enactment of modern legislation. Simon suggested what he called the poor man’s copyright law, saying musicians and other artists should register their works at the post office. Until the implementation of new laws, he said, membership in regional copyright organisations would offer some protection. He also suggested the creation of an anti-piracy website to expose those responsible for making illegal copies. Prashad said the situation might force the government to examine updating the copyright laws.
Simon said he believed that there is a role for government in the development of the industry, but he made it clear that musicians and other stakeholders in the industry also need to work towards selling value. He said Guyana’s music is on par with what is being produced elsewhere and challenged artists to produce more work and to work along with managers to promote it. On the latter point, the success of social networks like Myspace and Facebook in helping to push new music was noted.
According to Simon, the government has an integral role in creating an environment conducive to the emergence of new musicians and the promotion of artists domestically and here and internationally. He spoke of the need to get music teachers back into the education system to nurture young talent. In fact, Accolade is setting up a ‘Let The Music Flow’ fund to provide scholarships to young musicians and possibly to help set up a music school. Simon said that the cost of studio equipment is also prohibitive and he suggested that duty-free concessions be given on them. Additionally, he argued for an independent radio and television station to promote and develop the local arts and culture in general.
It just takes a little search to realize like persons like Mr Burchmore Simon is actually the purpose Guyanese music hasn’t gone pass Guyana shores. Your ideas has been tried by many. Krosskolor Records has been accused of putting their names behind music they dont even own on youtube, yet u put yourself as a pioneer to make this happen. Maybe thats why 20 people showed up at your meeting. We badly need an industry, but let the government be the ones to implement it. That fact that Krooskolor sells burned cds to people is alredy piracy. The so called Awards will not do anything for musicians, jus create jealosy amonst us mostly because of you putting your artistes in all categories.
Yes this guy from Canada,Sigram Baksh is right about Burchmore SImon just imagine he is a producer and he is on the organization who is setting up the music awards.Just imagine David Foster a well known producer in Los Angeles setting up who gets nominated for the Grammy Awards.What a joke,then he says that what he is producing is on par with North America,I do not think he hears very well.
He makes some valid points about getting together as a body and the Government having a major hand in this.I have been saying this for years but no one took me seriously.On the subject of original songs and recordings I challenge Mr Simon to compare his with mine and put it on the marketplace and let us see who gets the more favorable response.Furthermore I think I should be given a special award for producing one of the best bands Guyana has witnessed but I was met with a lot of opposition.What a shame.Oh by the way the carts that play music that traverse the streets play music recorded by JAHRUSALEM but I do not get paid for that.Then everybody wonders why musicians find it hard to have the right amount of money in a constant flow.
Bob Marley said it best “He who feels it knows it.
greetings Stabroek News for not deleting or editing my first comment..i’ve tried several times to comment on the awards website and it was never posted , which brings me back to the corruption and set up thats goin on over there..Maybe Mr Burchmore SImon should not be blamed , he maybe was appointed by someone..but if you’re a studio owner that was even accused of stealing recordings and not paying his artises for music sales, performances etc..why would you accept such a post..they played right into his hands and he ran with it..Now dont be surprised if he and his entourage cleans up the awards and then gave that wide smile that he has..
You see this guy SIGRAM BAKSH hit the nail on the head again do not be surprised if Mr Burchmore Simon cleans up at the awards.He railroads everyone because no one gives any opposition or care about what is really going on in the music business.I do not want to sound as though I do not like Mr Simon but the truth is the truth. Ask him about Ernie from Toronto.REFLEX STUDIOS.
I just happened on to this article and I could not believe my eyes. Are you people out of your collective minds? Where was Bryan Cumberbatch when Burch gambled EVERYTHING on establishing his studio and the cultivating the KrossKolor brand, in the late ’90’s? Where is he now? Where are the likes of Omega Studios, Petes and all the others who thought that producing and recording artistes was going to be a cakewalk. They all started out together, where the hell are they now?
Where were all the newcomers, wannabees, none of whom can carry Burch’s shoes, when he was in the trenches producing album after album, along with the likes of Bunny Alves, catching the bus to his home on the East Coast when he had no money, living Guava Season Hell, ? To be sure many of his efforts did not hit, some were less than memorable, but the ONLY reason Guyana can claim to have a music industry, is because of the efforts of people like Burch, Fojo, Sean Bhola, Bunny Alves,, Trevor “TJ” John and other serious players who chose to stay in Guyana and keep plugging away, learning the business and the art of music production, while other people bailed out for colder climates.
Like Mr Baksh, I too do not take this Music Awards business seriously. I think it’s much ado about very little and it diminishes the stature of people like Burch Simon. It is a distraction that I feel he can do without. But he obviously has his priorities which I will not second-guess. The sad reality is that there is no government on this earth that can do much for a music industry that has little or nothing to offer. Hell, there aren’t even any decent musicians left in Guyana nowadays….they’re all playing on cruise ships or in the islands somewhere. Of all people, Bryan should know this first hand….Remember Elmore, Colwyn, Malcolm…and others?
Additionally I have to say that I am apalled that someone like Bryan, who I know and respect, would take the approach that he has…..ie, to tear down that which he did nothing to build up. Jahrusalem was a good band, no doubt. But I know most of the former band members very well and they didn’t seem to think it was as productive an experience as Brian alludes to. Furthermore, while Burch is still in Guyana trying to make things work, where the heck are those who would readily denigrate the man’s efforts?
This constant bitching, backstabbing and tearing down is painful. I too had been in the music scene in GY and I am intimately familiar with the trials, triumphs of just about all the players in the last 15 years. People like Burch Simon, Mr Baksh, are the ONLY reason Guyanese music may EVER make it past these shores.
I don’t have all the facts, but what I know of Burch and his efforts, I feel he deserves the GT Nobel Peace Prize for SINGLE HANDEDLY reviving Guyana’s Music Industry!
I remember Burch upstairs at the back of Lee Huston’s Bakery at La Petenence, without a clue, but determined to succeed.
His determination has paid off, and his local success inspired others to “jump on the band waggon”. He has successfully negotiated for one of our artistes to perform on a regular basis with a band whose name is very well known arround the Caribbean.
Terry “Omar Farouk” Nelson tried with “Halagala Records” as well, but maybe his timing was off, as his success was not comparable to Burch’s. Mind you, Burch still has a long way to go, but he has covered considerable ground, bearing in mind, the circumstances under which he worked.
There will be a perceived “conflict of interest”, as far as Burch’s involvement in the Guyana Music Awards, but that is ONLY a perception. I am confident in his ablilty to be impartial.
Sometimes we have to forge ahead in the face of perception.