Yes, The HMI is an Industry.
I may be going against popular wisdom here, but I believe that the Haitian Music Industry, commonly referred to as the HMI, does exist, is active and is correctly named. Yes, the HMI is a real thing. For a while now, I have heard arguments that the HMI is not a true industry. Some even dispute the appropriateness of the name. “So called” often precedes the HMI. However, the term HMI seems to stick and cannot be shaken off.
Since nobody disputes the “Haitian” or the “music” parts, let us analyze the “industry’ part of the name. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, an industry is “a distinct group of productive or profit-making enterprises.” Britannica defines industry as “a group of businesses that provide a particular product or service.” More specifically, encyclopedia.com explains that a music industry involves the production, distribution, and sale of music in a variety of forms as well as the promotion of live musical performance”. As far as I know, Haitian musicians have been producing all sorts of music that reflect different aspects of our culture, the influences of other cultures, and of the times. They distribute the music using media available to them at the time (vinyl, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, digital streaming). They provide a much-needed service and perform the music at balls, concerts, festivals, locally and around the world. There are a variety of entities that invest and live off that industry. There are people who make a career off that industry. In fact, if we want to be honest, that is one of the few if not the only Haitian industry that continue to function in spite of the worse catastrophes that Haiti has known and has helped the community live through the worse of situations. Music is the only commodity that we never stop producing and exporting. Music is also the only product that can has brought the richest and the poorest Haitians together and it is the only product, except for rice perhaps, that we all consume despite our means. Whether it is church music, “lakou” music, jazz music, and the popular and resilient Konpa music, Haitians produce and consume music as much as if not more than any other people in the world.
Now, I am not a fool. I am not naïve. Many arguments made by people that the HMI is an oxymoron or a matter of fiction are quite valuable and rational. For example:
Data
It is true that to talk of industry in a market where data and analytics are not available to media, to consumers and most importantly to investors is the equivalent of talking of a Christian church where there is no Bible to be found. No business can expect to be effective, profitable or expandable if it does not use good, reliable data and report those numbers.
Transparency
We know that every industry has trade secrets that only insiders would be aware of but the level of opaqueness is truly disturbing in the HMI. A group of people who call themselves promoters but do not promote anything and a group of people who call themselves managers (most of them) but who are really just booking agents maintain a hold on the neck of the industry, keep young innovators and fresh ideas away. They value secret verbal agreements over formal contracts in order to threaten and manipulate but never have to pay a dime of consequence. The dismissive attitude of many of the decision-makers and the entrepreneurs toward legal documentation is evidence that they either do not take their role seriously or do not expect professionalism or intend to behave professionally.
Wealth creation
The lack of transparency, the absence of data and innovation stifle the injection of substantial capital into the industry. Only a handful of superstars, band owners and club owners reap the financial benefits of the industry. Most of the people who pay the bands to play weekend parties are not real investors. They are people who are more interested in gaining proximity to the superstars and earn clout that could bring them up the social ladder. A few of them are simple music enthusiasts who like to create musical events, are well-intended and often must sacrifice profit and financial health to keep the music alive (kite Konpa mache). Furthermore, the great majority of musicians are in effect long-term giggers who do not have the assurance of permanent and reliable employment which in turn causes instability within the bands.
Another major problem for the HMI is the fact that few people are experts or specialists with distinct competence. Most of the actors are playing roles they have no business playing or are wearing multiple hats, making them ineffective. In many bands, the owner, the band leader, the producer, the spokesperson is one and the same person.
The HMI is a dysfunctional industry being run like an organized crime organization by clueless, arrogant and unprofessional people who refuse to accept their limitations and do deals in dark rooms with associates of convenience. They keep fresh ideas and real investment out because of the lack of transparency and informal way of doing business and because they are fearful that they will lose their place and the spotlight. The real losers are Haitian music, Haitian artists and the public. It will be very difficult for Haitian music to expand, cross borders and reach a diversity of markets in the absence of important investments and expert promoters. Despite their exceptional talents and great work ethics, most Haitian musicians will not be able to live and retire comfortably with the fruits of their labor. And the Haitian public, melomaniacs by nature, will continue to complain of being disrespected, of poorly organized parties and a lack innovation.
In sum, the HMI is an industry. The HMI is probably the most active and productive industry that Haiti and the Haitian diaspora possesses. And to be honest, there are some glimmers of hope with some young actors taking personal risks to create quality contents and images (Smitty, Reginald Georges, etc.) and to propose new ideas such as Wilfrid Petit-Frere with HMIPPV and others. Like many of Haiti’s institutions and industries, however, the Haitian Music Industry is run “à l’image du pays”. Maybe we have to wait until Haiti turns into a truly functioning country for the HMI to become a profitable and respectable industry. Or maybe the HMI can be a beacon of light, an inspiring example, a catalyst, for the Haiti we dream of. But whether it is Haiti the country or HMI the industry, we are our worse enemy and yet also our only hope.
B.A., Modaki Ayiti
