(Trinidad Guardian) President of the Recording Industry Association (RIATT) Fabien Alfonso is not pleased with statements made by Minister of Trade and Industry Vasant Bharath on the creative-industry stakeholders and the Creative Industry Company (CIC). In a T&T Guardian report on November 29, Bharath said the Government was not completely satisfied with the performance of the creative industries.
He said after investing around TT$90 million into the sector over the last five years, the Government had not received sufficient return on investment. Bharath also said he did not believe that resources were being utilised efficiently within the creative industries.
He explained that the CIC was formed in order to allow those with the expertise and the business acumen to commercialise creative ideas that would bring requisite returns. In a letter to the editor published last Sunday, Alfonso denounced Bharath’s statements, which he said suggested creative industry practitioners lacked business acumen and were frequently in need of financial assistance from the Government to manage their projects.
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian, Alfonso said Bharath seemed to have no confidence in creative-industry practitioners and failed to see them as business-minded people. He disagreed that members of the creative sector had a “dependency syndrome” and said he saw that as an insult to the locals who worked tirelessly to independently create entertainment products and to establish their brand.
He said members of the creative industries were “very empowered” despite the limited resources available to them. Alfonso said while he saw nothing wrong with using financial experts as consultants, it was those within the creative industries who had the expertise on how the industry functioned and should be managed.
He said although an individual may be an expert in business management and finance, he or she may not be aware of the inner workings of the film, music or fashion industries. The November 29 article said although the CIC would act as a comprehensive body, there would be advisory boards, made up of representatives from each creative sector, to allow each entity to have a voice.
Alfonso said that aspect of the CIC model left creative-industry practitioners with very little power and because of the structure of the CIC, “we will be able to advise, hold meetings and recommend but there is no guarantee that any of it will be implemented.”
He said the CIC needed to be restructured as it was not sensible to “cluster” the various sectors into one company because each deserved its own attention. He said those sectors included music, film, fashion, theatre, dance, visual arts and Carnival arts and each sector should have its own company, board, staff and strategic plan to ensure successful management.
Bharath has a great deal of knowledge of business, he said, but members of the creative industries would like to be seen as business colleagues who wished to partner with the Government and to receive the respect they deserved.
