David Stopps, Managing Director of FML International Artist Management
The How to Make a Living from Music Workshop was a two-day event that explored the basic concepts of earning revenue from music. Hosted by MusicTT and coordinated by the World Intellectual Property Organization in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Office of Trinidad and Tobago, this workshop took place on the 6th and 7th April, 2017 at Cascadia Hotel, St. Anns from 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
David Stopps, Managing Director of FML International Artist Management was the workshop’s feature speaker. As an International Music Business Consultant and Music Business Educator, Stopps has presented a series of international workshops mainly for musical authors, performers, managers, governments and collective management organizations, but also for telecoms, brands and any organizations interested in expanding their business using music. He has presented workshops in countries such as Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, The Philippines, The Netherlands, Kenya, Brazil, Thailand, and the UK, among others.
Stopps is the author of the book ‘How to Make a Living from Music’ which is published by the United Nations. Commissioned by WIPO, the book is mainly targeted at the developing world but is equally useful in developed countries. The second edition of this book was published in May 2014 and in 2016 it was translated and published in French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
On 6th and 7th April, he educated practitioners on various topics including:
- Income Streams from Copyright and Related Rights for Authors and Artists
- The Importance of Artist Management
- Building a Fan Base, Live Shows and Touring
- How to Monetize and Give an Added Value to Music via the Internet
Other workshop topics included:
- Creative Industries as a Factor of Economic Development in Trinidad and Tobago and the World
- Copyright and the Music Industry in Trinidad and Tobago
- Music Publishing and Contract
- Direct Artist Management and Independence in the Music Industry
- The Importance of Collective Management in Music
- Challenges to the Music industry in Trinidad and Tobago
Also presenting at the How to Make a Living from Music workshop were several other renowned facilitators including:
- Dr. Dimiter Gantchev, Deputy Director, Copyright Infrastructure Division, Copyright and Creative Industries Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Dr. Vanus James, Professor at the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica
- Ms. Shiveta Sooknanan, Legal Officer 11, Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Trinidad and Tobago
- Mr. Simon Baptiste, Manager and Performer, Port of Spain, Trinidad
- Ms. Cherine Anderson, Performer and Producer, Kingston, Jamaica
- Mr. Leonardo de Terlizzy, Legal Advisor, International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
- Ms. Erica K. Smith, CEO, Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Incorporated (COSCAP), Bridgetown, Barbados