Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange says that the Government is to draft legislation to protect the rights of practitioners in the creative sector, as the country seeks to safeguard the cultural and economic contributions and legacies of its well-known creations, for example, reggae music.
Opening the JN Talking Reggae symposium to culminate the celebration of Reggae Month last Monday, Minister Grange said her ministry has, since 2019, been embarking on a series of measures to facilitate and protect the continued viability and growth of Jamaican music.
“Key among these was the preparation of a candidature filed to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in 2019 on ‘Reggae Music of Jamaica’ to have the element inscribed on UNESCO’s representative list,” she stated.
The inclusion has established Jamaica as the original source of reggae.
Grange said that her ministry has also prepared a proposal to the European Union and UNESCO for technical support under their expert facility on the governance of culture. “And I am happy tonight to announce that, through this facility, Jamaica will produce a first draft of an Entertainment Cultural and Creative Economy Act,” she disclosed.
The month of June is the target date for the draft, which will establish a legal framework within which mechanisms will be established to protect the rights of members of the creative, cultural and entertainment sectors. The draft legislation is set to come as the country celebrates its 60th year of Independence.
The act will also outline incentives for investors in the creative and cultural sectors and taxation relief for professionals in the arena, and establish the framework for creating a space for cultural expression.
She noted that the drafting of the legislation parallels an ongoing thrust for the ratification of international legal instruments, which protect the copyright of Jamaican ‘creatives’, even within the Metaverse.
The legislation is to be supported by the Cultural Policy, which Grange said is almost complete.
“We have come a long way,” mused the minister, who has also had a career in artiste management, as she challenged banks to step up their investment in the sector.
“The banks were not receptive, except for one bank,” she recalled, “and we had to mortgage everything we had, and so I hope tonight is a beginning of a new era.”
Panellist Gillian Hyde, deputy managing director, JN Bank, acknowledged the difficulties entrepreneurs and self-employed persons in the creative sector face when accessing financing from banks. She pointed out that many players in the space face challenges because of their difficulty with creating and operating an enterprise and monetising intellectual property for use as collateral.
JN Bank, Hype said, is prepared to help.
“Based on our service over the years to the micro and small business sector, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand and [to] build a relationship with that sector, and we want to zone in on our creative sector, to include our artistes, and ensure that we design products that meet their needs,” she explained.
She added that the JN Group, of which JN Bank is a member, will be working with their local and international partners to provide financial products with guaranteed programmes that provide access to collateral to assist with the security challenge.
The JN Talking Reggae symposium was hosted by attorney-at-law and media personality, Khadine ‘Miss Kitty’ Hylton.
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