Black Immigrant Daily News

Local music producers are not expecting much if any, financial fallout for the industry from the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica’s (BCJ) ban on radio broadcasts of songs that promote or glorify illegal activity.

In fact, they are suggesting radio stations will feel the financial pinch when they are unable to play songs that are burning up streaming platforms and are making waves “in the streets.”

The BCJ has issued a directive requiring broadcasters to prevent the transmission of any recorded material that promotes or glorifies illegal activity, with immediate effect.

But Billboard charting dancehall producer NotNice, born Ainsley Morris, reckons that the radio stations themselves may end up losing out financially.

“Most artistes’ income comes from stage shows and dubplates so it will affect the radio stations and maybe sponsors,” he told Loop News.

For example, “If you are going to run some ads on the radio for an event and you see that the demographic that you trying to reach [is] not listening to the radio anymore, you will be wasting money to advertise.”

“Most of the songs they ban, actually get their break outside of radio. Radio stations try to catch up so they go and get the songs to play,” he said of the dynamics of the industry.

“It will more affect them and their listenership,” the producer said.

Dancehall artistes also do not make much in royalties from having their music played on radio, he said.

“Most new artistes not even sign up with collection agent to get royalties from radio, so they not going to lose out,” he reasoned.

For music producer Jahsnowcone, whose given name is Rohan Fuller, while the ban may “hurt those youths who sing those songs,” it will not bring any financial loss to the industry.

“Not everybody sings those kinds of songs. The majority not singing songs like that,” he reasoned.

He expressed similar sentiments as Notnice that since radio is no longer the ‘go-to’ for consuming musical content anymore, artistes still have the option of cashing in on other platforms.

Jahsnowcone suggested, however, that the ban may inspire creativity among proponents of the dancehall industry.

“A man nah go just sit down a say, “I’m not going to make any money,” so he’s going to try something else,” he said.

The BCJ has prohibited the broadcasting of “any audio or video recording, live song, or speech which promotes and/or glorifies scamming, illegal use or abuse of drugs, (e.g. ‘Molly’), illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, “jungle justice” or any other form of illegal or criminal activity,” among other things.

By Tameka Gordon

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

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Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC. File photo/Sureash Cholai

ATTORNEY General Reginald Armour, SC, told opposition MPs on Tuesday that no legal fees are owed to him for any work he did for the Government as a lawyer before he was appointed to Cabinet on March 16.

Responding to a question from Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, Armour recalled he did some work for the Office of the AG and Legal Affairs before being made AG.

“I do recall I was paid some fees.”

Before asking his question, Hosein said the Office of the AG spent $72 million in legal fees in fiscal 2022 and was seeking a sum of $30 million to handle legal fees in the next fiscal year.

Hosein repeated his question to Armour on the amount of fees paid to him as an attorney engaged by the Office of the AG.

Armour said the $72 million figure was elaborated upon by his predecessor Faris Al-Rawi in last year’s budget debate in the House.

“I don’t have the figures to hand. That’s not anything I walk with. But I am certainly prepared to provide it in writing.”

Hosein claimed to have information before him which suggested Armour received $3.9 million in legal fees last year.

He asked Armour if any outstanding fees were owed to him.

Armour replied, “There are no outstanding fees owed to me.”

Hosein asked if any other MP “was the beneficiary of any legal fees in the last fiscal year.”

Armour initially said Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland might be in that category, but after saying he could not confirm this orally, he promised to provide the information in writing.

He told MPs the Office of the AG has a central role in the governance of Trinidad and Tobago, as outlined in Section 75 (2) of the Constitution.

Armour said the AG is “an indispensable member of the Cabinet, along with the honourable prime minister.”

He added that the AG’s constitutional commitment is “to good governance, the rule of law and democracy.” The AG’s responsibilities, he said, include “the administration for legal affairs with respect to civil and criminal proceedings.”

The committee approved an expenditure of $345,276,200 for the Office of the AG.

Later in the proceedings, the committee approved expenditures of $27,538,650, $571,351,400, $6,802,900 and $144, 882, 580 for the Industrial Court, Judiciary, Equal Opportunity Tribunal and the Office of the Parliament respectively.

NewsAmericasNow.com