A promise made by the Hon. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit to advance the music industry is already being realized by the association of music professionals (AMP) of Dominica.
In July 2015, the Hon. Prime Minister made that commitment while announcing an allocation of $500,000 towards that industry.
Earlier this month, Hon Dr. Skerrit identified training as one of the key aspects of developing the industry which has the ability to contribute to the national economy.
From April 26th to 29th, a training workshop on the craft of song writing was held at the Dominica State College; facilitated by Swedish national and renowned international songwriter, Aleena Gibson.
President of the Association of Music Professionals is Mc Carthy Marie.
“As you know, the first way an artist gets known anywhere is through a recording. So we thought that after you have [learnt to write] the song, the next thing to be done is to learn how to record it properly. If it is badly recorded, it will kill a good song. If you have a scintillating recording, you have a hit which will make you plenty money.”
The training is being facilitated by recording engineer and record producer, Stuart Young of Canada.
“In Canada, we have a lot of Government of industry-funded programmes to help music grow and to develop songwriters.
“Studios used to be analogue and set up in a place; there used to be a real structure of training of people learning how to do recordings. Now, people are buying systems and doing recordings but they don’t have that core knowledge. so I think this is a great opportunity,” Young told the media on Wednesday, May 18th.
Adrien Francis describes his experience at the workshop.
“It’s really Dominica doesn’t really have much support behind the music industry. A lot of my peers and persons I know are very interested in using our talents and skills for income and still live our passions and dreams.
“I gravitated to this course and I think it’s a great idea to sensitize the individuals. What I have learned so far that I didn’t know is about the analogue and digital sides of studio production; that the analogue is really where it started. All of this gives more depth to music and it’s a great experience so far.”
He hopes this workshop can enhance his skills within the music industry.
“He added, “Honestly, I like learning things so being in this music field , I participated in the song writing course and learned about the structure of a song to market it.
“I really want to see what I can take from it to include in my craft. As they say, talent is one thing but skill is something that will take you further.
“Music is my thing,” he says.
The training programs will cost over $50,000.
