Corey Graham 2.0 N Biz Blog

As I was about to write this post when I saw a post on Barbados Entrepreneurs' Venture Capital Fund's Facebook Page

RT @clemenshackl: By 2013, the UK creative industries is expected to include 180,000 businesses, contributing £85 billion to the economy. – How many do you think Barbados will have?

The COSCAP Foundation is certainly showing that they are committed to creating more viable businesses in the creative industries by way of the music industry. Today is their inaugural Annual Fundraising Gala to help them raise the necessary dollars needed to accomplish their goal which is to advance the personal well-being and professional development of the members of COSCAP and the music industry of Barbados. The theme for the gala is "Our Music, Our Artistes, Our Future" and will be starting at 6:00 PM at the Barbados Hilton hotel. I would like to commend them on this initiative and I would like to see it still going strong in 2015 and with lots of success stories to share as they develop the Barbados Music Industry.

I would charge them to make sure that they dedicate more time to exploring the possibilities that exist on the internet. I think that our industry is not place enough resources on developing the technology that gives us the best chance ever to truly develop our Music Industry.

I must make mention of the lovely Ebonnie Rowe for inviting me as a blogger to attend the press conference and also for getting it started on time. She been doing a very good job of coordinating the event and the Public Relations … especially the blogger relations!

Ebonnie also owns and coordinates the popular Honey Jam Show in Toronto. 

Photos from the Launch

Official Information and Releases

Link to the foundation  - http://www.coscap.org/corporate/foundation

Inaugural Annual Fundraising Gala

Saturday, April 24, Hilton Barbados

6:00 Cocktails, 7:00 Dinner followed by

Award Presentation and Artist Showcase

The COSCAP Foundation, under the patronage of Sir David Simmons, launched on July 7, 2009 to ensure the appreciation, protection, development and promotion of Barbados' music as a national resource and its participants as vital assets. The Foundation is designed to assist in the financing of the musical education, training and professional development of young musicians and other artists, while enhancing their long-term social well-being. Such education and training will be undertaken through an ongoing series of scholarships, grants, workshops, seminars and other opportunities in Barbados and abroad.

On Saturday, April 24, 2010, the COSCAP Foundation will hold its inaugural annual fundraising Gala at the Hilton. Hosted by Vic Fernandes and Cassandra Crawford, the Gala will be a black tie event with the theme: "Our Music, Our Artists, Our Future".

After dinner, there will be an artist showcase where guests will be entertained by stellar performances by Barbadians in widely varied genres such as gospel, calypso,rock, jazz, folk, hip hop, alternative, reggae, pop, tuk and acoustic. All of the music will be 100% Bajan. Confirmed acts will be a mix of established artists along with some of the up and coming talent including: Kareen Clarke, Sir Ruel, Gabby, John King, Ayana John, Threads of Scarlet, Buggy, TC, The Mike Sealy Quartet, Simon Pipe, Kite, Blak Kla Soyl, Mistral Baldeo, Nexcyx, Billy Kincaid, Natahlee, Nicholas Brancker, Blood and Cherish Breedy.

The first annual Coscap Foundation Award of Excellence will be presented that night by the Prime Minister to the MerryMen in recognition and appreciation of their contribution to music and culture locally and internationally and their example of showing how to make your music into a successful business by creating their own brand through unique image and sound, publishing, licensing and owning their own studio and label.

About the COSCAP Foundation

The COSCAP Foundation was inaugurated on July 7, 2009 under the patronage of Sir David Simmons, and with a Board of Directors comprising Mr. Glyne Murray, Chairperson; Mrs. Ayanna Young Marshall, Deputy Chairperson; Mr. Ben Arrindell; Ms. Lynette Eastmond; Norman Barrow; Miss. Stella Hackett; Mr. Stedson Wiltshire; Mr. Nicholas Brancker; Ms. Celia Toppin and Mr. Derek Wilkie. The COSCAP Foundation is the brainchild of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc (COSCAP). The nine-year-old, 1,200-member parent body is a private non-profit collective management organisation which administers the performance and production rights of the composers and authors of musical works, and music publishers, as well as the related rights of the producers of phonograms and of performers in Barbados. While COSCAP has been very successful in carrying out its primary function of collecting and distributing the royalties of its members, it also recognised that they had needs which exceed COSCAP's legal mandate. It was agreed that there was a critical need for a separate organisation dedicated to pursuing and satisfying these other needs.

REASONS FOR FOUNDATION

The COSCAP Foundation was set up to advance the personal well-being and professional development of the members of COSCAP and the music industry of Barbados.The Foundation decided that its goals would be best pursued in the context of a viable and sustainable national music industry as is reflected in its Mission Statement: “The COSCAP Foundation is dedicated to ensuring the appreciation, protection, development and promotion of music as a national resource." The Foundation has been incorporated as a non-profit company under the Laws of Barbados.

FOUNDATION’S ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

The Foundation has given practical realisation to its stated goals through involvement in a number of developmental music activities:

• Organising and staging, with the collaboration of the Embassy of the United States, a 10-day workshop that exposed 14 artists from Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the creative, production and technological techniques of producing jingles as another means of contributing to and financially benefiting from other musical works. The workshop was directed by Mr. Daryl Harris, a highly experienced and respected multi-talented artiste from the United States, with the Foundation currently engaged in finalising arrangements for the completed jingles to be used to further educate the music and wider community on the value and protection of copyright.
• Sponsorship of two seminars at the Barbados Community College (BCC) by established American pianist, bandleader and singer, Danny Mixon on instrumental improvisation an area held to be a major source of weakness in the skill sets of many Barbadian musicians. These seminars attracted dozens of musician from the BCC and the general Barbadian music community.
• Sponsorship of a six-member group of artists at the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Trinidad and Tobago where the yper formed with distinction.

QUALITY OF LIFE

The Foundation is also exploring ways and developing programmes through which it can enhance the material welfare of the members of COSCAP through medical insurance, financial advice,training, preparation for retirement etc.

FUNDRAISING

The Foundation recognises that in order to meet its ambitious target of boosting the educational and training music infrastructure of Barbados and catering to the non-financial needs of the members of COSCAP, it will need to ensure a reliable and adequate stream of financing. It has therefore decided to mount a number of fund-raising projects significantly its Gala on April 24, 2010 intended to be an annual stellar affair.