PM calls on local musicians to be professionals

DOMINICA:  Government has made a firm commitment to advance the music industry in Dominica. In the 2015/2016 National Budget the Hon. Minister for Finance, Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit announced a $500K allocation to enhance the industry.
This commitment bore its first fruits last week when the Dominica Leader announced Government’s financial assistance to the Association of Music Professionals to hold training sessions for aspiring songwriters and sound engineers.
The need for training, among other things, was identified when the Hon. Prime Minister met with a group of local music professionals last year.
The Hon. Prime Minister believes music gives Dominica a better opportunity to effectively compete with other markets.
“When CARICOM negotiated with the European Union for the Economic Partnership Agreement, we spent several months fighting the European Union to include in the EPA the area of services. CARICOM recognized that it would be difficult to compete on matters of commodities. Music forms part of the services industry. This is why the Government created a specific unit within the Ministry of Trade dealing exclusively with the implementation of EPA.”
The Hon. Prime Minister says however that in order to compete effectively, local musicians must always exhibit professionalism in the art form.
“For us to be able to compete and gain attraction of the international promoters we have to be professional,” he said. “This is because you will never know where the scouts are. We have to ensure that every opportunity we get to perform we have to exhibit professionalism.”
Management and certification of local artistes were also cited as issues that need to be ironed out in the industry.
The Association of Music Professionals will be responsible for identifying the training required and source the facilitators for these training sessions.
Government has made a firm commitment to contribute to the financial aspect of their undertakings.
The Hon. Prime Minister says his Government’s aim is to bring greater focus to the industry and to allow music professionals to take full advantage of available opportunities.