By Pat Ryan
WORDS AND MUSIC, BONDS AND BRIDGES, GIVE ME A LITTLE EXTRA
It is pure Serendipity, having this title from one of The Mighty Arrow’s songs to introduce my reflections on the Arrow Symposium and more particularly to share my gleanings from Ivan Berry’s Feature Presentation, The Business of Music, at the Second Arrow Symposium which took place on November 10, 2011. Timing counts for a lot, and Arrow’s death in September 2010 opened the door to an exploitation of his business acumen, and not a few windows into entrepreneurial activities for those interested and involved in the Music Industry. The fact that the “Extra” came the evening before the start of the Alliouagana Festival of the Word, is a brilliant example of thinking outside the box.
At the first Symposium in 2010, we examined the Mighty Arrow’s business legacy. The theme of the second Symposium this year :Creative Industries: Forces for Change, Innovation and Entrepeneurship, broadened the scope, allowing for presentations on various aspects of the exploitation of creative talent in theCaribbean. As someone with songs to sing, and seeking a way into the world of recording, because I do not see myself as an on stage personality, I was quite interested in what Mr. Ivan Berry, Manager iB Entertainment and Beat Factory Record Label, had to say about the many lucrative facets of the Music Industry. Most of these have nothing at all to do with performance as an artiste, but quite a lot to do with getting artistes ready for the stage.
Very interesting too, was his take on what makes a song a good seller. A song which has a ready market with the home public, may not travel well; but producing songs which have a global punch, could result in a strong marketing brand with a passport to travel around the world… much like Arrow’s HOT! HOT! HOT! and TINY WINEY. While I am responding to MrBerry’s presentation from a personal perspective, I think he had something for everyone present in the standing room only Conference Hall at the Cultural Centre in Little Bay. So immediate was the call and response, that one young man may well be on his way to the next St Kitts Music Festival. It’s a matter of understanding the possibilities and following through.
Ivan Berry’s presentation was entitled The Business of Music.
