BARBADOS – The creative sub-sectors that employ technological advancements have the greatest potential for growth and could drive higher revenue into the Barbados economy. That was the prediction made by economic consultant Jeremy Stephen, as he remarked on the performance of the local Orange Economy, a term that refers to businesses rooted in creativity such as art, fashion, music and film. He noted that the Crop Over festival alone earns upwards of $30 million USD annually, a figure that incorporates the contributions of support industries that facilitate creativity such as the roadside vendors and event promoters. He said that the high-grossing event, in addition to tourism-related economic activity, accounts for a minimum of $100 million in annual income.
Apart from the festival, Stephen identified the local music industry as one of the highest performing sub-sectors within the creative industries. As an example, he pointed to the favourable revenue generated from music royalties indicated through Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and local publisher COSCAP, which manages the copyright for artists such as Shontelle and Red Plastic Bag.
“‘Ragga Ragga’ by Red Plastic Bag, is one of the top soca songs of all time and is probably one of the top soca songs in the world. It is probably one of the most played soca songs in the world to this date, behind ‘Feeling Hot Hot Hot’ by the Merrymen and ‘Tempted to Touch’ by Rupee… the music industry has had the best track record and the best growth so far,” he noted.
The former president of the Barbados Economics Society (BEC) predicted that the sub-sector that is the first to sufficiently utilise technological advances, such as AI, has the greatest growth potential. He explained this point using the novel ability to create fashion designs with AI-driven platforms such as Midjourney as an example:
“With AI now, and 3D printing, you can have a very successful high fashion house in Barbados. Or, you can even do mass production without having to leave, and do it more sufficiently.
“[Designers can] conceptualise with AI, using the likes of Midjourney, for instance, which allows you to type in what it is you want to see and it makes it using tons and tons of data from across the web and comes up with new combinations. You can have that as a design that you take and go forward with it. So any industry that incorporates artificial intelligence, first I should say, is the one with the greatest growth potential in Barbados.”
From a regional perspective, Stephen acknowledged Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as having thriving creative industries. He credited this success to their robust support systems for creatives, such as grants and private sector investments. By contrast, he said some Barbadian creatives still face challenges garnering similar support.
“A greater proportion of the Jamaica economy is based in creative industries. I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody said that close to half of the Jamaica economy is based on its entertainment and creative sector. In terms of fashion, one of the few places in the Caribbean where you can have a relatively successful fashion career is in Jamaica and then followed closely by Trinidad and Tobago. And this is to do with the English speaking Caribbean because there are fashion designers within the Dominican Republic that do really well, and Haiti to an extent once they’re known by the wealthy. So, Barbados pales in comparison to them. Those two countries, Trinidad and Jamaica, are better in terms of the support systems for creatives,” he explained.
On an international scale, the expert said that the United States’ largest export is entertainment, noting that significant economic drivers within the industry include Hollywood films, music, live shows, and sports. He said the industry also generates revenue for indirectly related businesses:
“Then you have others that facilitate that like aviation. Most of the travel that goes on in the US isn’t just business executives, but also talent like American football, [NBA, tennis and baseball] players travelling throughout the season and these guys have large fleets. [With regards to] media, most of the media produced by the US is entertainment-related and sports-related. So that drives a significant part of the economy outside of technology and finance, it actually rivals them as industries.”
Stephen suggested that Barbados could achieve similar progress with further investment in its creative industries. He said that while Crop Over is heavily supported by the Government and private sector, the latter could also make a greater contribution to other activities within the Orange Economy.
“I mean you have examples such as Chefette that does really well in terms of supporting the Orange Economy, either through brand ambassadorships to support musicians, to a point Digicel does the same as well, but that’s as far as they really seem to go. Chefette would do some sponsorships for sports events, and it really makes them, and KFC to a lesser extent, and a few others, anomalies,” he said.
With regards to government support, Stephen highlighted initiatives like the Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Pathways: Technical Assistance grants. He, however, questioned its sufficiency: “The question would be are they sizable enough, considering what needs to be done to promote the creative industry outside of Crop over?”
The economic authority noted that the Government “does what it can do considering its own precarious financial position, but it can do more. It can be creative.” To further enhance the local Orange Economy, he said that repurposing certain taxes as sponsorship for athletes and creatives could be a viable solution.
“Government can redirect the collection of taxes from going to certain activities, and redirect it into sport and the Orange Economy. One that I call for… is the idea of reducing the amount of money that is collected from the airport and sent on to the BTMI, and redirecting it towards sponsoring some of our athletes, or you can go further and say, some of our [creatives] that have really great potential. The reason why I said this is that you are doing it as more of an investment that brings attention to the country.
“For example, say your magazine becomes world-renowned, people will link it forever to Barbados. The same way that as soon as Rihanna opens her mouth, people hear the accent, people hear about the country, people want to come to Barbados to see where she grew up. So you have to link it or sell it to the Government as a tourism product — [to show] that the Orange Economy is a tourism product and that there is an indelible connection between the two.”
Stephen stressed that this tax reallocation has the potential to bring international attention to Barbados and help the BTMI satisfy their objectives:
“As such, it would make BTMI’s job, in my view, more effective. So, some of that funding that allows them to do placards and billboards… as part of their own marketing drive, could just be given to some athletes that would go out there and perform wearing the colours of the flag and people would [gain interest in Barbados]. Just like how people travel to Jamaica just because of Usain Bolt, the same can be done for our country. And you can extend that to musicians… and other practitioners within the Orange Economy.”
