The Haitian Music Industry Today - Part 2

By Steve Desrosiers

Last month we explored a few of the reasons why Haiti's popular music soared in the 1970s and much of the 1980s. This month we delve into murkier waters; the state of Haitian music promotion.

The current situation is one where most promoters in the industry are interested in promoting bands that have established audiences. Many are interested in predictable profits while making a modest investment of time and effort to effectively plan and market a party. Unfortunately, some choose to cut corners where a show's most important asset - its sound - is concerned. The venue situation has improved in recent years, as many promoters have realized the value of having a party at a locale that is attractive and safe for their audiences. Haitian audiences have to accept blame for the difficulties promoters formerly faced in accessing quality venues for shows, as the partygoers of years past had a penchant for turning other people's expensive dance floors into boxing rings.

The "quick-profit" based approach to hiring bands and artists negatively impacts the possibility for long term growth in revenue, audiences and diverse programming in the industry. Currently, only a handful of bands are sought out to man the many parties that occur in cities like Boston, New York, Atlanta, Miami, Canada and elsewhere. Many promoters will share that audiences are slow to consume music and slower react to a new band. I would counter that over the years, the overuse of the same roster of bands across many states has driven audiences (especially mature audiences) to seek entertainment elsewhere, to end their concert-going days or to seek out Haitian entertainment once a year. The audiences left are those who are new to the scene and exploring their native identity for the first time. For a time they will gorge on the same old acts until they get bored and discover the universe of entertainment options available to them outside of the Haitian music market.

The constant pairing of talented and promising new acts alongside established acts is a sure way to keep the excitement factor alive for old and new audiences. This practice has helped the American music industry keep its many music traditions alive and well. There is always a new band to discover in the AMI and competition among bands to preserve their hold on the number one spot is legendary. All of this activity keeps dedicated audiences interested, entices potential audiences while giving bands a reason to form, become professional and strive to improve their product. Incidentally, this practice protects the business of the promoter. How? The more good bands compete for an opportunity to play, the less the promoter is held hostage by a few bands who, realizing the value of their position, may overcharge for their services.

Marketing is expensive but it is the life blood of the business of arts and entertainment. The quality of the marketing done for most Haitian shows recently is good because many promoters are using the strength of the internet to reach audiences. Advertising on sites like Facebook and the industry's modest number of Haitian music sites is now common practice and a great investment. However, advertising through local papers, cable shows and radio stations that accessed by Haitian and non-Haitian audiences is also a good idea. Diversifying promotional outreach (American radio stations for example) may allow Haitians who live outside of the inner city to discover an event or allow a non-Haitian who may be adventurous enough to also discover the event.

Those to whom music promotion is a serious endeavor should always invest boldly in marketing. Again, American practices have led the way. The reason most of the world responds to American products today is a result of the long term marketing investments of the past. Americans boldly advertise their products wherever there are human beings. Haitian promoters would do well to consider that non-Haitian audiences may respond to an opportunity to discover a new tradition of music. Such long term investments create a path for the survival of the business well into the future. There may come a time when there are as many non-Haitian audiences attending Haitian shows as there are Haitians. Just think, Haitians in America have the opportunity to marry all sorts of non-Haitian folk!

The sound quality at most Haitian parties is notoriously questionable at best. Most promoters hire the cheapest product they can in the area of the party that is most important to consumers - the quality of the band's sound. It is often the case that the "affordable" sound companies hired to amplify Haitian bands have unreliable equipment and unknowledgeable staff setting up and manning the equipment. Too many years of this practice has led today's Haitian bands to travel with their own sound engineers to safeguard some portion of their reputation for consumers. Oh yeah, and the cost of the additional plane ticket cured that shortcut quick - no?

Would you consistently take your friends to a Haitian restaurant with long wait lines and bad food just because it was Haitian? You'd make that mistake once, maybe twice and then revert to mom's kitchen or the Cheesecake Factory because of their reputation for consistent quality. Whether promoters realize it or not, for those of us who live in America, competition for Haitian dollars on Saturday night includes established venues like the House of Blues, Hard Rock Cafe and more. Sure, this generation of Haitian-Americans may put up with a few bad nights, but at $30 a show, smart audiences will weigh their options or at least minimize their frustration by going out less or spending elsewhere!

Many promoters and artists in the industry believe that recent lackluster attendance at Haitian shows is a result of high prices or a bad economy. If that logic holds true, then Haitian bands based in America would have no reason to tour throughout Haiti - the poorest nation in the hemisphere - every single year! The truth of the matter is that bands and promoters lose audiences every time the overall quality of a show is less than what was represented on an album or less than what folks are used to at the average American concert.

You may have noticed that most of the serious musicians of the past have left the field. Promoters in past years were notorious for leaving the great musicians of the past unpaid, half paid, stranded in hotels in foreign countries, etc. In my last article we discussed the quality of today's overall musical products and the lack of ingenuity displayed on most of today's albums. Well, where serious practitioners cannot make a decent living playing music, then they must leave the field in order to support themselves and their families in some other way. Once that happens, the field is left to professional hobbyists! Pay the band!

And speaking of hobbyists, the core of the issue lies in this very word. Many Haitian promoters do not see the business as a vehicle that could make them their own bosses or the leaders of an industry. Hobbyists lack the necessary love, concern and conviction it takes to develop a sense of mission or a vision for Haitian music. The man of business, like the farmer understands that he must first sow, then wait for rain and carefully monitor and assess progress and failure to make the decisions that will guarantee the success of a crop or an investment. Again, I must harp to the American example when I consider that most American bands that "make it" usually don't die poor but live to make a lot of money and one supposes the promoters who put on their shows made just about as much. Acts like the Rolling Stones were treated like royalty by promoters some of whom still enjoy steady profits from the band's shows more than 40 years later! I'll let you do the math.

Imagine a promotion team that strives to be successful enough to offer employment not only to musicians but staff in America and Haiti. Imagine the one industry we could take global, make huge profits and control for the benefit of the people without running for political office.

Ahhh, kite'm domi pou'm reve ti-moun!