BY KAVELLE ANGLIN-CHRISTIE, Staff Reporter
Left: Alton Ellis - WINSTON SILL Right: Sean Paul has got a deal with Verizon to sell his ringtones. No other website is authorised to sell them. - FILE
"SHOW ME THE money!"
That's what most Jamaican artistes want to see when their songs are used as ringtones without their permission.
Any random search on the Internet will show ringtones from most of our artistes including Bounty Killer, Sean Paul, Wayne Marshall, Shinehead, Beenie Man, and of course, Bob Marley. The websites include: www.2-4-7-music.com, www.artistdirect.com,www.starpulse.com among others.
According to singer Alton Ellis he has not profited in any way from websites that provide his music as ringtones. "I don't have a problem with it as long as I am getting paid. But that is not the case. It's promotion, but there are no financial benefits whatsoever."
"These people need to be paying for it because they are getting something from it ...The only thing I could do is get a lawyer, but that is using up money that I don't have. It is something that has been happening for a while - they have been using us all these years for promotion and we don't get anything," he said.
At least one Jamaican record company along with the two major telecommunication companies have sought to remedy this problem. VP Records currently has a deal with bMobile and Digicel which allows fans to download ringtones for a fee and according to Patria-Kay Aarons of Digicel, it has been going well so far, though there is competition from bluetooth technology and the Internet.
"The take up is very good right now ... We are going to be introducing ringback tones very soon and instead of hearing a ring when you call someone's phone, you will hear the song being played," she said.
According to Yolan Zanders, marketing manager at VP Jamaica Records, not only are ringtones a promotional tool, but it is another way for artistes to earn money.
"It is a promotional medium, because you have to think about the fact that each time someone's phone rings your song is being played. It creates a hype for them and they also get a percentage from it from the publishing of the song," said Zanders.
COLLECT ROYALTIES
Singer Alaine, whose song No Ordinary Love is available to Digicel users, says ringtones "Are a way of getting your music out there and you collect royalties from it and you feel good whenever you hear someone's phone ring and your song is being played."
While many agree that it is a promotional tool, there is the discouraging flip side. Some Jamaican artistes are unaware that their songs are being offered on the Internet either for download or as a ringtone and as a result of this, they don't profit but the websites do.
Patrick Gaynor, otherwise known as 'Curly Loxx' from the duo,Twin of Twins, says one way to change this is to have the songs available on the artiste's official website for download. He also says he is aware that fans have their ringtones but says they don't pay for them, so he sees it as a mere promotional device.
"In the next two or three weeks they will be available on our website; some are going to be free and others they will pay for ... Some people take it (music) from the album and others bluetooth it when we record. That's the main thing - people are going to bluetooth it anyway. You also have to look at the fact that it isn't encouraged by others in the industry. It's not as expensive as a record and it doesn't bring in the amount of money that a record would, so they are not really interested in it. So for me it's really about the promotion," he said.
King Yellowman's manager, Simeon Stewart, says although Yellowman's album and songs for ringtones are available for download, it is not authorised by them. Stewart says Yellowman has a publisher which should investigate the matter but he has not so far.
"As far as I know we have not been collecting anything whenever these songs are downloaded. We have to crack down on those people, but we don't have the proper tools out here. I think this is dishonest," he said.
One example of promotion with benefits is dancehall artiste, Sean Paul's deal with Verizon earlier this year, which allows fans to download his song Temperature for a fee, and as a result of this Sean Paul gets royalties whenever someone downloads the song.
According to Jerome Hamilton, director at Headline Entertainment, and agent to Sean Paul, the lack of knowledge about publishing rights on the part of the artistes sometimes causes problems for Jamaican artistes.
"A lot of people are not aware of what to do. There is a general lack of knowledge about publishing. These days it's the more popular songs that are being used as ringtones, but sometimes they are not properly accounted for and this happens to so many people. If their publisher is a good one, then they should be able to keep up to date with these things," he said.
While Sean Paul's official websites offer his ringtones for sale, there are also others that make the same offer, though they are not authorised to do so. Currently, Verizon is the only company that Sean Paul has a contract with for the sale of his ringtones.
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