otis corbie
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Karma: 2 |  | Music Piracy in T&T
« Thread Started on Jan 25, 2008, 1:17pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif "[Quote]") |
From a cart behind a truck parked in Charlotte Street, a man is selling a range of CDs in slimline cases with badly-photocopied covers.
The music on view is all reggae, dancehall, R&B and rap. But in response to the question, "You have any soca?", he pulls out another set of discs hidden in a black plastic bag.
They turn out to be home-made compilations featuring Crazy's tune along with other new sounds from local artists - proof that Trinidad's record industry has been all but overwhelmed by the music pirates of the Caribbean.
Delayed releases
Trinidad and Tobago's local music business revolves around the annual carnival, with new soca and calypso releases supposedly scheduled to reach retailers in time for February's festivities.
But with CDs often manufactured in the US or Canada, many of the most popular songs are not properly available until the last minute.
In fact, some do not hit the stores until long after that year's influx of foreign tourists has flown home.
However, promotional copies are sent to radio stations and to the major carnival bands. From there, they leak out to the pirates, who burn them on to blank CDs.
Every year, the local music industry body, the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT), prosecutes a number of street vendors after a series of high-profile police raids.
In the most recent operation, on 28 December, 40 people were arrested and charged in six different locations.
Enrico Camejo, who has run COTT's anti-piracy efforts for the past three years, estimates that the sale of illegally-copied music costs the country's music industry up to $2.4m (£1.2m) a year - a big deal for a small Caribbean economy.
He explains that for legal reasons, COTT can only bring criminal prosecutions when the music being sold is local, although it is possible to seize and destroy counterfeit CDs of other music.
The organisation cannot represent international copyright holders in criminal cases, only its local members - which is why the pirate vendors keep the soca CDs under wraps at first.
"The pirates don't blast the local music as much," he says. "They've been told by their lawyers - imagine, pirates have lawyers! - so they're not afraid to expose the foreign music."
'Corruption'
The potential punishment for music piracy in Trinidad and Tobago is certainly strict enough. Each count of copyright violation carries a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine in local dollars ($16,000; £8,000) and 10 years' imprisonment.
However, you have to catch the pirates first. COTT's Mr Camejo admits that police constables taking part in an anti-piracy raid are only told about it on the day, for fear that they will tip off the vendors if given advance notice.
"In every country, there's corruption in a force," he says.
Mr Camejo describes music piracy as a "plague" and harbours no illusions about being able to stop it: he aspires only to "keep it to a minimum".
But counterfeited music is not only easier to find, it's also cheaper.
A pirate CD bought on the street costs the local equivalent of $3.20, as against $16 for the genuine article.
Meanwhile, the pirates have a new tune to sell. This one begins: "Crazy! Suzy say de $100 card you send for she missin' a zero - was a $10 card."
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rois
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Karma: 0 | | Re: Music Piracy in T&T
« Reply #1 on Feb 6, 2008, 10:00am » | |
Thanks for postin this otis, i find this topic real interestin as i work in copyright here in the UK.
Do you or anyone else know WHY most of the Soca CDs are manufactured in the US/Canada???
Are the record companies bound in contracts to manufacture with a certain company or is it just that there aren't the manufacturing facilities in Trinidad???
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otis corbie
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« Reply #2 on Feb 7, 2008, 9:37am » | |
cost is a major factor. this cost is amplified by transport
and shipping expenses
as well as Territorial rights eg : EU copyright laws and music distribution laws are somewhat different,
thats one of the major reasons films are released so late in the UK
what we need is a distributor who ships from many items and can include a reasonable amount of our goods from USA to UK thus making it affordable to stores and consumers etc.
I think Amar studios used to manufacture but really not sure if they still do.
Also USA Canada are a much bigger market for sales so manufacturing where it will be sold (less transport issues) makes sense I suppose
what u think? 
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rois
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Karma: 0 | | Re: Music Piracy in T&T
« Reply #3 on Feb 7, 2008, 3:01pm » | |
So what about if there was a good manufacturer in trini, and record labels could contract out to both them and their US/Canada manufacturers to press the records/cds. That way the local music would be available straight away while they'll still sell in the US/Can without shipping costs, would that work in theory??
Its a hard one, I understand in protecting music and its creators, especially with music being such a vibrant scene over there, but COTT need to work hard to find ways of working WITH vendors instead of against, I was reading in Newsday how they got the police to do a big crackdown on vendors sellin yesterday after carnival....
The thing is vendors will not be deterred, its supply and demand after all, if people want the music they will find it and someone will provide them with it, illegal or not.....ent??
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