Lloyd Stanbury advocates for music conferences

Though music business consultant Lloyd Stanbury turned his love of thE art form into a successful career as an entertainment attorney, he revealed that while attending The University of the West Indies in the 1970s, the law faculty did not offer any courses on intellectual property or entertainment.

"Like many of us at the time, and even now, there's a need for persons to educate themselves on their own. Nothing on entertainment law was taught in school then and [the] fact is, if one has an interest in something, then doing the necessary research should not be burdensome. I had the interest, so I had to go out and teach myself," he said.

He told THE STAR that music conferences became his stomping ground to gain more knowledge on the industry, and by participating in them, whether as a guest or speaker, he has benefited. Stanbury named the Midem conference in France, Global Reggae Conference, as well as the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers convention, and film conferences as some of the best.

"The beauty about music conferences is that a person can register, attend, sit and listen; and if they don't understand something, ask questions. It gives you the opportunity to learn and understand what you should look for, connect with persons who you can call along the way ... that's what these conferences do," he said.

Having sat on different sides of the music industry table, as an artiste manager, music producer, policy development and attorney-at-law, Stanbury is well experienced in negotiating entertainment deals that align with the expectations of all parties. But he recognises that there are still drawbacks in the local music industry. He is one of the featured panellists on the Island Music Conference's session on copyright, publishing and royalties today. He joins the likes of Evon Mullings, general manager of the Jamaica Music Society, and Lilyclaire Bellamy, attorney-at-law and executive director at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, inside the Courtleigh Auditorium.

"With our panel, we will touch on the laws of copyright and related rights for all persons involved in the creative process of making something like a song. When an artiste creates music and the music lasts for decades, or has a widescale impact on people, it generates economic value, or facilitates that earning of royalties within an artiste's lifetime, and beyond their lifetime," Stanbury said.

"We are still finding that many artistes still tend to focus on the easier routes of making money, or the get-rich-quick side of entertainment, for example, live performances, rather than long-term potential of what they do. Sometimes that attitude, or fear of trusting, sets us back as a people, [so] many creatives are extremely cautious or against associating themselves with persons who can guide them and make the system work on their behalf. But I urge persons to do the research first, learn through conferences," he continued.