THE LOCAL ROYALTIES agency has reported that last year it paid $278 539 to overseas-based agencies for foreign artistes whose music is played here, while it paid $279 380 to local performers.
Erica Smith, chief executive officer of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers Inc. (COSCAP), also said that payment for copyright to local rights owners – writers and publishers – was $156 254 in 2010.
This information came against the backdrop of calls by many people during the just ended Crop Over season for a 100 per cent Barbadian radio station to provide a forum which would allow for greater returns in royalties.
However, Smith noted that “normally, the payments for copyright to local rights owners are higher than for related rights [performers and producers], but the figures for 2010 differ as some copyright payments were delayed and paid in January 2011 and therefore not accounted for, but if these were included then the total amount of royalties for export for the 2010 period was $446,005”. (RJ/ES)
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