Give Us A Fee Break! Jamaican Entertainment Industry Group Calls For Waivers, Modernization

As discussions intensify for a safe reopening of the entertainment industry in Jamaica, at least one group is lobbying for concessions in some of the administrative and ancillary fees common in the industry. 

The group, which represents a wide-cross section of industry stakeholders, has been in conversations with several parties including the Kingston and Portmore parish councils, the Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP) and the Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS).

“Outside of the kind of fees that come to mind when the everyday person thinks about events and entertainment, there are some fees that we have to pay before we put up the first advertising board,” said Ibrahim Konteh, one of the spokespersons for the group.

“It’s clear to everyone that nothing is the same today as it was before covid-19, and for entertainment and events we realise that is acutely true for our industry. At every angle we are downsizing as part of a plan to responsibly reopen, but that means that our economies of scale have changed as well,” Konteh added.

The group is asking for a break on amusement licenses and advertising fees from parish councils and corporations in addition to those from JACAP and JAMMS, and said this is one of the ways that the government could support the industry.

“We are looking for pragmatic solutions and ideas that need little to no bureaucratic support and are easy to implement. This is something our local government leaders and the peripheral organizations can do, right now, to help us be in a better place to reopen safely and economically,” Konteh said. 

An event pays between $5,000 to $15,000 for place of amusement licenses to parish councils and anywhere between $60,000 upwards for advertising pre-event and on the day for branding and infrastructure. 

Gabrielle Curling, a member of the group of stakeholders, echoed the concerns but going further, saying that the sector has an opportunity to modernize and streamline the fee structure.

“When you think about the various fees and the several agencies they are paid, it shows that we have not thought about this as an industry before this moment, and now that we are actively talking about it, we could and should start the conversation on fee structure and  its consolidation,” Curling said. 

She said she’s encouraged by the ongoing conversations.

“Our efforts have been positively received so far and we are looking forward to expanding our lobbying this week,” she added.

Curling and Konteh are from a self-formed group of entertainment industry stakeholders actively and proactively engaging with the government and the public on the reopening of the entertainment sector. The group includes event organizers, food and service providers, performers, DJs, and production groups and is seeking to democratize the conversation around reopening the industry.