The Eastern Caribbean Collective Organization for Music Rights (ECCO) Inc, responsible for music royalty collection and distribution, last Wednesday made another payment of royalties to its local members and members of international affiliates.

According to a release from ECCO, this payment is strictly in respect to live performances licensed across the ECCO territories and royalties received from affiliated societies in the UK, France and Trinidad and Tobago for 2013 and 2014.{{more}}

Payments will include royalties received from the St Kitts Music Festival 2012 and 2013; Dominica World Creole Music Festival 2013; Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival 2013; overseas royalties from PRS (UK), COTT (Trinidad and Tobago) and SACEM (France).

The current distribution is the second of several payments that ECCO members will benefit from this year. ECCO will be making its main royalty distribution in August 2015 for Radio and General, and another payment is to be made in September 2015 for Saint Lucia Carnival 2014. ECCO members and members of affiliate societies are expected to share in an overall distribution pool of over EC$600,000.

ECCO general manager Steve Etienne says “The members who will benefit the most from these series of payments are, of course, those whose works feature prominently at major events across the ECCO territories and those whose music is performed in international markets.”

The release said not all the revenue available will be distributed, as some members have not returned log sheets of their live performances, despite personal appeals from ECCO. However, this revenue will be reserved, pending completion of claims.