BSCAP CEO SHYNE BARROW SAYS MUSICIANS MUST BE PAID;
COMES OUT AGAINST BUSINESSES VIOLATING COPYRIGHT ACT
Ambassador Shyne Barrow, who also serves as CEO of the Belizean Society of Composers Authors & Publishers, came out strong against copyright violators.
In an interview with channel 7’s Jules Vasquez
Ambassador Barrow was emphatic that the time has come for musicians to be paid for the use of their music.
Barrow was appointed CEO by the BSCAP board last June, since his appointment he has been on a public awareness campaign to try to garner public support and bring businesses in line with the nations copyright act.
While some big corporations such as Harvest Caye, Scotia Bank, Bowen & Bowen and Plus Tv have come on board and are copyright compliant, there is still resistance from corporations using music such as Raddison hotel, Courts, Biltmore best western and Ramada Princess who will be the first corporation BSCAP takes to court for violating the nations copyright act.
Barrow says “the public should be outraged at the blatant violation of the law.” In his quarterly letter to BSCAP members Barrow says “it’s really a shame that musicians don’t get the respect they deserve in this country”
“Historically, copyright infringement has gone without penalty in Belize, thus the reason for resistance from some of these corporations.”
“Copyright acts around the world call for corporations who use music to pay and our tariffs and fees are guided by regional and international standards, so corporations in Belize need to comply with the law as do other corporation in the region and the world.”
The BSCAP CEO says “All artists should have their intellectual property rights protected, especially our Belizean artists who are struggling financially and can’t even be full-time artists due to economic restraints.”
Barrow was careful to point out how music contributes and can contribute more to the nations GDP.
He said “The development of the music industry is so very important to our economy as music is a critical part of our rich Be- lizean culture. The better our musicians, the greater the Belizean experience will be for tourists. But if artists are financially burdened, it takes away from their creativity.”
Barrow says although the BSCAP board has retained high powered law firm Barrow & Co
to take violators to court, he told BSCAP members that they “have just as much power to impact the court of public opinion and force corporations to pay.”
He therefore, called on members, to be prepared to engage in protests of all businesses nationwide “who are violating the copyright act and chancing our members.”
He called on the radio & Tv stations to follow the lead of Plus Tv and become copyright compliant. He urged the broadcasting commission to refrain from issuing broadcasting licenses to radio and tv stations that are non compliant.
This is a watershed moment for musicians and other creatives. If CEO Barrow can succeed in enforcing the copy right laws of the nation it will revolutionize the Music Industry in Belize.
ABP
