dms Broadcasting has agreed to sign to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cayman Musicians and Entertainers Association concerning minimum radio airplay of locally produced music.
Minister of Communications Arden McLean made the announcement at the weekly Cabinet briefing on Friday.
The agreement came after Mr. McLean met with dms Broadcasting Managing Director Don Seymour on Wednesday, 11 October.
‘I sat down with Mr. Seymour and discussed the matter,’ Mr. McLean said. ‘He’s a reasonable businessman as far as I’m concerned.’
The MOU, which is expected to be signed in the near future, will commit two dms stations HOT 104.1 and KISS 106.1 to playing a minimum of one local song per hour. Two other dms stations – 96.5 Cayrock and X107.1 – are expected to play local music under the terms of the MOU; however they will not be held to the one song per hour requirement because of a lack of local content in the specific programming format of those stations.
dms had resisted signing the MOU suggested by CMEA and had offered instead to sign a similar agreement that only committed HOT 104.1 to the one-song-per-hour requirement. CMEA, however, rejected the proposal, stating it would be unfair to all of the other station that had signed the original MOU. Representatives of all of Grand Cayman’s other radio station signed the MOU on 8 September 2006.
Mr. Seymour, who once said he would take the issue all the way to the Privy Council if the government tried to force him into adopting the terms of the MOU, explained why he had a change in heart.
‘Arden’s approach was completely different,’ he said. ‘Frankly, he just asked me nicely to do it.’
Mr. Seymour said CMEA’s approach in the past had been different.
‘When people come and try to force something down your throat, you don’t want to cooperate,’ he said. ‘But when someone asks you to do something for the country, how can you say no?
‘We want to cooperate,’ Mr. Seymour said. ‘I’m not an outlaw.’
CMEA president Clive Rosteing responded to dms’s agreement on Saturday.
‘The Cayman Music and Entertainment Association is delighted that dms Broadcasting has decided to join the other radio stations in unanimous support of local music,’ he said. ‘We have waited for this occasion for a very long time and we are celebrating the fact that Caymanian musicians will get regular and consistent airplay on the local airwaves.’
Mr. McLean said other broadcasting matters were discussed during the meeting. With regard to the blanketing interference issue, Mr. McLean applauded the efforts of dms to resolve the issue.
‘dms has voluntarily funded the purchase of additional equipment and the relocation of the radio antenna,’ he said. ‘dms was instrumental in developing a working partnership between the various stakeholders… to formulate a technical solution to this ongoing problem.’
The matter of inappropriate content was also discussed.
dms was recently criticised by members of the Government for what it considered racy content on its morning shows and for the lyrics of one particular song that received airplay.
Mr. McLean said that although the ICTA Law gives the Cabinet the ability to make regulations with respect to broadcasting content, both he and the ICTA would prefer to promote self-regulation by the broadcasting sector.
‘All radio stations and the DJs they employ must respect and understand the cultural values of the Cayman Islands,’ Mr. McLean said. ‘In addition, they have a moral responsibility to promote Cayman culture and respect the cultural norms of the listening audience in these islands.’
Mr. McLean said Mr. Seymour suggested that a cultural orientation for radio DJs could be carried out every six months by local cultural consultants to ensure that radio hosts ‘respect and promote the cultural norms and values of Cayman society.
‘In addition, dms will voluntarily begin airing parental responsibility messages that encourage parents to take an active role in monitoring the various media formats available to children and to visit the dms website if any content on its radio stations concerns them,’ Mr. McLean said. ‘This is a first for any media organisation in the Cayman Islands.’
Mr. Seymour called the meeting extremely productive and said Mr. McLean was ‘completely reasonable’ with his requests.
For his part, Mr. McLean praised Mr. Seymour. ‘I have a lot of respect for that young man,’ he said.
‘Overall, the Ministry was pleased with the quick and positive response of dms ratio stations and look forward to their continued cooperation and assistance with these matters.’
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