Ministry Of Culture Plans Move To Access Unclaimed Royalty Funds Of Deceased Artists
The Ministry of Culture in Jamaica is addressing posthumous royalties for deceased artists by collaborating with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell to research and identify unclaimed funds held by major record companies for Jamaican songwriters and recording artists.
This initiative aims to negotiate a pool of these funds to support the Jamaican music industry. However, this issue highlights the broader need for artists to create wills, join collective societies like JAMMS, and plan for their intellectual property to ensure their families can benefit from their creative works.
Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport 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.
She name dropped Island Records’ Chris Blackwell as being a key player in ascertaining the amount of unclaimed royalty funds being held by major record companies.
” 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.
Record companies often hold unclaimed royalty funds for Jamaican artists who have passed away, but their estates or heirs cannot be located.
The problem of posthumous royalties is a longstanding problem within the industry as many artistes fail to plan for their musical assets, leaving their families without access to the royalties generated by their work.
Jamaica’s copyright legislation, particularly regarding performers’ rights, has not been updated to fully benefit local artists and practitioners
In a JIS news release, Grange claimed that negotiations will be held to place all the funds a pool pending a structured arrangement to allow familes access to said funds.
“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,” Minister Grange said.
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.