JACAP licensing fees explained

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

The Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) handbook states that "different licence fees are calculated for different uses".

Expanding on this, director and past chairman Steve Golding says "the permit or the licence for a live show would not be the same permit that a radio station would get, but the principle remains the same. You are facilitating the broadcast of music to the public and so you need the writers' permission. We represent the writers".

JACAP general manager Vernal Weir Jr calculating the money due to the organisation from the promoter of a live event is "a simple formula". He outlines a process where "you give us a ticket price, you give us the amount of attendance", the figures are multiplied and the fee is eight per cent of the total.

"That money we collect, we will have an inspector at your event and that inspector gets a playlist of music used at that event. We now come back and, come distribution time for that which will be called a live event, we take the total, assign it to your event, with the playlist into the system," he said. The specialised software does the required calculations and the money is assigned.

Different for broadcasters

Golding explains that "the circumstance with broadcasters is slightly different. With broadcasters it is a share of their advertising revenue. There is a Net Advertising Revenue (NAR) that is arrived at by subtracting between 25 and 27.5 per cent from the gross advertising revenue. The balance is the NAR and of that amount we take (from radio stations) 1.75 per cent. The free-to-air television rate is just over one per cent, while the proposal for cable television operators is based on their subscriptions."

Golding points out that "the rate we collect of NAR is the lowest in the world". He adds that there is no animosity or acrimony between JACAP and the free-to-air broadcasters. "Our best client is a broadcaster," Golding emphasised.

JACAP has the option of checking the books, as Weir said "we reserve the right to do an audit at any given time, but it is by contractual agreement. That is in the licensing agreement".