Well it has made a significant change in the way music can now be acquired by collectors. Music is now absolutely free and especially to the young demographic, purchasing music is no longer in their spending patterns.

In the 90’s when Madd operated a music store in Bridgetown called “Rue Rue”, it was the usual practice that every Saturday morning we had teenagers who would faithfully come and buy cds to their favorite artistes. Beres Hammond, Garnet Silk, Boyz to Men and Krosfyah sold like hot sugar cakes.
There were no cd burners in computers facilitating pirate activity and nothing called ADSL, so if you wanted music on cd you had to get it from a store.

Now the young people of today just stay home punch the name of their favorite song into the computer download it into their mp3 collection and enjoy it on their ipods and phones with out paying a cent. Damn wunnah internet people then, you should be shame!
There are teenagers out there who don’t know what a music shop looks like furtherless why you would take $50 to buy a cd

So that’s why we should take your hat off and admire the following; John Edwards of Power Station, Valerie Greaves of Number One Record Shop and Norman Barrow of A& B Music, for continuing to survive against overwhelming technological theifing odds and continual support of the music industry.
If you are not going to take your hat off, at least cut your hair…

Boyce is leaving the “theifing music” computer

Theifing blank cd

Let’s have a round of applause for the Police! Yeah you who are reading this stand up and clap right now dammit! Let’s give them a standing ovation for the splendiferous job they are doing fighting CD piracy in Bridgetown. Attached is the link to the Nation News story where Assistant Superintendent of Police David Johnson, displays thousands of illegal cds seized from raids on pirate vendors in “Operation Safe City”. Johnson speaks of police efforts to rid Bridgetown of illegal vending. There would have been a time when music piracy would have been ignored, that is now a thing of the past

As an entertainer it warms my heart to hear a senior police officer stand up and utters the words “piracy amounts to stealing the intellectual rights of persons and we will not stand idly by and do nothing. I mean the man sound like a Entertainment Superman then. I am so freaking proud. Just last week I was having a conversation with a shop owner of how the illegal cd vending was on the rise again. We were discussing how it can be brought to the attention of the authorities, but before “de cat could lick he ear*” Police are on top of the situation.

Piracy in Bridgetown and the lack of enforcement was the major concern that led to the Crop Over music boycott back in 2004. Entertainers should feel proud to know that since that time there has been an awareness of protection of intellectual property that we benefit from even today. Members of the Concerned Entertainment Group who organized that boycott should feel proud to see how their objectives were achieved in the long term.

But in this instance all the Applause belongs to our Royal Barbados Police Force for putting down an “enforcement performance” of excellence equal to that of a Alison, Lil Rick or Edwin. You must also big up the Police Commissioner Dottin, and don’t forget the people like Attorney General Dale Marshall (He went to Combermere with me), Minister of State Atherley and the Minister of Culture for ensuring that protection legislation does not just stay idly in the law books but becomes a reality.

Stand and take your applause gentlemen, for an excellent job well done! Lets work towards maintaining it.
* Real Damn Quick

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