Entertainment Ministry Engages Stakeholders on Posthumous Royalties for Artistic Works

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is in discussions with industry stakeholders regarding the payment of royalties on artistic works following an artiste’s death.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, made the disclosure during the recent ‘Music Mastery: Empowering The Sound Industry’ workshop, held at the Ministry’s Trafalgar Road offices in New Kingston.

“The major record companies, they all have funds; they have royalties where they cannot find a number of Jamaicans who are entitled to those royalties and, in some instances, the artiste [and] songwriter, they have passed on and they don’t know who their estate is,” she said.

“So I am in discussion with the major record companies through a collaboration with [Island Records’ founder] Chris Blackwell… where we’re doing research to see what funds are being held out there for Jamaican practitioners, the songwriters, and former recording artiste,” the Minister added.

Ms. Grange further stated: “When we gather the information, we are going to negotiate where those funds can be put in a pool and we structure an arrangement where we find persons, we find their estate, or funds that are seen as unclaimed funds and will never be claimed, to see how it can be put back into the industry to assist in the development of Jamaican music.”

The one-day workshop was designed to provide practical knowledge, creative insights, and strategic connections for persons working in or aspiring to enter the music and creative industries.