Why We Need to See the New Strategic Plan for Music, Parts I & II
As we in Trinidad and Tobago map out the economic and social Road to Recovery in a post-COVID-19 world, the idea of all working collaboratively would be a great place to begin. As noted in the recovery plan outlined by the Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, “We are all in this together.” We also read that, “The Government sector must become more agile, removing unnecessary bureaucracy, enhancing its execution capability to directly stimulate and enable development.”
From the perspective of the creative industries under the helm of the Ministry of Trade, a more open collaboration must be forthcoming. The live music industry is decimated. Period. 2020 is past tense, virtual concerts are not paying the bills, and 2021 performances, festivals and Carnivals are dependent on audience confidence, vaccine readiness, and plain old T&T bad mind. And none of those is guaranteed!
This ‘lock down” period is a time for reflection and planning. It is also a time for doing. But action should not be a blind pursuit. In 2017, the government received a strategic plan from Sound Diplomacy costing near to one million dollars with a mouthful of a title: Trinidad and Tobago Music Industry Strategy: A Strategic Action Plan To Develop a Vibrant, Sustainable and Economically Prosperous Music Industry in Trinidad and Tobago. Piecemeal implementation and non-sharing of the Plan have been the roll out strategies, unfortunately.
Jeanelle Frontin, former GM of Trinidad & Tobago Music Company Limited (MusicTT) speaking to the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian in 2016, was quoted as saying:
“There are many reasons why [strategic initiatives fail], for example: not taking the time to understand the people for which the strategy is intended, which we are currently addressing; creating plans that far exceed the resources or ability of the parties involved; lack of support from the government and/or private sector in funding the recommendations of the strategic plan. And of course, lack of proper execution (inclusive of monitoring, evaluating and adapting) which has plagued us as a nation for some time.”
Pick one. Or more. Trinidad and Tobago music stakeholders, public and private, are in that boat of “failing initiatives” right now. I have laid out my reasons for sharing the Plan so that the music industry can holistically move forward — written 20 months apart, while waiting in vain, and halfway through the implementation period — more so in the recovery period following a global pandemic that will see an economic decline and a slow recovery here and abroad. We all need to be on the same page going forward. Only working together will this recovery be effective.
- Why We Need to See the New Strategic Plan for Music, Part I [Read here],
- Why We Need to See the New Strategic Plan for Music, Part II [Read here],
OR LISTEN BELOW:
© 2020, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.
