People are burning songs onto CD rather than buying original music

Owner and CEO of Ice Records, Eddy Grant said the Caribbean has a piracy culture that stretches beyond music.

According to him even the Caribbean's more prominent citizens such as politicians, doctors and lawyers have a pirate's mentality.

Mr Grant described the illegal recording and distribution of music as a disease.

"People of the Caribbean need to take serious focus on themselves and recognise that piracy is a disease, just like AIDS that is there to destroy their economies, ultimately themselves."

Consequences

The consequences of being in breech of copy rights laws or participating in piracy can be high.

In Trinidad and Tobago for example, the maximum fine is just under 16 thousand US dollars, as well as up to ten years in prison.

This has not been deterring pirates there.

CEO of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago, Alison Demas said it's because the police are not pulling their weight.

Eddy Grant likened piracy to Aids

She said while there are laws in place that make piracy illegal, police are not enforcing these laws.

"COTT is not an enforcement agency. It is the police who have to take action."

"If the police aren't willing to cooperate we will not have music left. Maybe then they will wake up and take notice," she said.

Acting Police Commissioner Winston Cooper said the police is committed to the fight against piracy, but their efforts are being hampered by the failure of rights organisations like COTT to cooperate.

"Prosecution depends on their support and if when the police intervenes we are delayed or put off by the time that it takes to have their support, then it certainly restricts police officers from becoming involved."

Royalties

Royalties from the 2005 Caribbean Carnival season have not yet been collected, but in Trinidad and Tobago alone, figures from the 2004 season have surpassed 500 thousand US dollars.

Despite this, performers say they lose 50 percent of their revenue to piracy annually.

Trinidadian singer and songwriter David Rudder said it is very painful.

Piracy undermined sales of Rudder's song Trini To The Bone

"I've been making records for over 20 years now and recently I've had to not do one, because I use sales from the previous record to produce the new one."

"That was a year that I had a huge song - Trini to de Bone. Everybody had it but no one really bought it from a legal place," he said.

In Barbados Sach Moore, Deputy Chair of the Copyrights Society of Composers Authors and Publishers in Barbados (COSCAP) said composers and artistes must do their part to reduce piracy.

CD prices

"There is an economic factor that needs to be addressed. There is a very high retail cost attached to music in the market place."

Mr Moore said this is not on par with what the pirates are offering.

He noted that while the performers offer approximately eight songs for 20 US dollars, the pirates are offering 15 track compilations with the best selection of songs for half the price.

In relation to the quality of pirated CDs, Mr Moore said technological advances mean there is very little difference between them and original recordings.

"You put a CD in a computer burner and you get something that is easily accepted as the quality that you want," he said.