Two hundred musicians are officially a part of a family of artistes following the launch of the Guyana Music Network (GMN).
The network, conceptualised by owner of Kross Kolor Records Burchmore Simon earlier this year, will seek to empower artistes through education, marketing and other activities and will see musicians working together to achieve network goals..
The launching of the network and its website on Friday evening was interspersed with performances by local artistes. During singer Charmaine Blackman’s performance, there was a power outage. However Blackman, showing the resilience of the network’s artistes, plowed through her performance despite the setback.
Referring to the blackout, Clinton Urling, head of the Georgetown Cham-ber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), encouraged artistes to face challenges and see the light at the end. He outlined the importance of music towards the development of a country, pointing out that the music industry has the opportunity to bring about social transformation, such as Calypsonians who use music for social commentary. But he opined that the music industry in Guyana is suffering from the absence of intellectual property licenses.
Urling noted that music plays a major role in the marketing of a country. He pointed to other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica and Barbados, where there are robust music industries and he claimed that attention can be brought to Guyana by its artistes in the same way Rihanna has brought attention to her native Barbados.
Urling promised continued collaboration with the network and said he was in talks with Simon to conceptualise ways to propel GMN.
Minister of Culture Dr Frank Anthony was also in attendance at the launch and he spoke about the importance of Guyana exploiting the full economic value of its music, along with the attention and fame associated with it. He mentioned that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will be partnering with the Government of Israel for five days to teach persons in the cultural industry how to use their talents and make it into a business.
The network will be embarking on a number of projects for the next six months that will set the foundation for its future. According to Simon, online classes will be offered to teach musicians how to markets themselves, while a database of musicians will be made available. GMN will also be creating its own radio programmes. He emphasised that these programmes will play 70% Guyanese music and 30% regional music and will aim to revitalise Gospel, Chutney, and Calypso in Guyana.
The website (www. guyanamusicnetwork.org) will present the public with the opportunity to view upcoming events, register to music copyright organisations that are partnering with GMN, and sign up with the network.
The GMN will also be partnering with a number of persons from various Caribbean countries, including St Lucia, Turks and Caicos, and Jamaica.
At the launch ceremony, 50 members of the network were presented with all-access passes. These passes will allow members to gain additional services such as free consultations from Don Gomes Optical and discounts from Colours Boutique. All access passes are not restricted to the musicians but also extend to their families and friends.
