Most people enjoy at least one genre of music… indisputable.

What is also indisputable is the fact that many people in their enjoyment of music give scant regard to the complex elements, stages, and costs involved in the production of recorded music. The creator of the music is the source and so the creation, consumption, and enjoyment of recorded music is not free. Fair, equitable, acceptable, and agreed compensation must be accorded to and accepted by the creators. Anything other than that is illegal.

Music is an intangible cultural item from which Jamaica has benefited more than most other of her cultural assets. Through its many usages and applications it promotes and boosts entertainment, tourism, advertising, live performance and other industries and creates thousands of jobs in several sectors — from major corporations, to music video producers and stylists, to the humble peanut vendor. In Jamaica, between 6,000 and 12,000 people are directly or indirectly employed within the music industry and about 25 per cent are self-employed — generating approximately US$15M to US$20M annually, adding over 4.8 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and providing employment for three per cent of the population.

Protecting copyright music

The usage of copyright music falls basically into two categories:

1 Recorded music, once copyrighted requires permission for usage;

2 Interpretations, derivatives and/or sampling of works and usage in commercials, movies, and video games, etc.

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