Heavy metal, death metal, hardcore, black metal, alternative rock, punk, symphonic rock, art rock … all that is made in Cuba and still Mary Gattorno, director of the Cuban Rock Agency, says that marketing is the Achilles heel of this type of music production in the archipelago.
With her, who carries on her shoulders quite a few legends since when at the the end of the decade of 1980s she created El Patio de Maria, a kind of rock club in a House of Culture of Havana, OnCuba talked about “the numbers” that set the budget of a genre that is considered more underground than commercial.
“Marketing is in the world of money and the space, which sometimes become difficult. The disc as source is almost imaginative, although it is what remains for life or introduction letter, is not a source of income for any artist in this country, I think, and hope I’m wrong.
“To say ‘I have an album or two’, gives particular value to defend the work, but the pure marketing for us is the concert where the artist can charge.
“That’s one of the sources of income for the Agency, but it is difficult to organize the presentations of the four weekends of the month at the Maxim Rock, because those are very few days and there are too many bands. The other route is the realization of income in other locations or provinces, but go into the country involves payment of transportation, lodgment and performing, expenditure that authorities consider expensive. ”
Is that why they say that the Cuban rock “does not sell” …
“There is no doubt: there is a difficulty of marketing. Throw in the need of some tech support: audio that cannot be cheap because you have to amplify it and a platform and lights … Although you have a lot of public you don’t recoup the money invested.
“Hiring a band from the catalog of the Agency is sometimes 5000 or 6000 Cuban pesos, depending on the place, time, or the economic possibilities of the institutions that hires it.”
Do musicians have a saying or vote in negotiating the price?
“Every band has a budget and it is known that below that they would not have enough to even pay the musicians. They assess the chances of their profile, its number of members and put a minimum price. That we respect, and we entered into negotiations on how much of the proceeds will be for the agency, 20%, 30% … “.
What determines the percent?
“It depends on the concert, because it would be unfair if in Artemisa and they pay their own transportation and other expenses the Agency will charge them 30%, which is the maximum. The minimum is 15%. ”
And you charge them although they arrange everything by themselves, including the premsies?
“Yes, because remember that all music companies are paid for their representativeness that includes, for example, in providing all legal formalities the band needs, in an economic structure that they do not have …. The Agency pays a portion of their Social Security taxes and there is an institutional support, although not everything we wanted to do. ”
Do musicians have any power of decision on what the Agency does?
“Sure. When a musician is going to perform he must submit a draft of what he wants: we’ll use this space, and invite as many people, and put a sign on the back of the stage, we will charge for door, etc … “.
And if structure were more flexible: what could improve in the Cuban Rock Agency?
That falls into the category of dreams. The economic factor is ultimately what determines, that’s a Marxist argument: your economic power makes you stronger or weaker. At this time we would like to have a shuttle for our artists to be moved wherever they wanted to submit an audio module for outdoor work … and well, with money it would be great because we would invest more in promotion, images, maybe even could afford discs or would pay tours to festivals abroad, which for us is almost a dream. ”
Cannot you arrange tours?
“Yes we can, I’ve known that it has done in the past, but it is not easy for a Festival to pay you the fare of all your musicians, stay, food and pocket money to be able to survive in Brazil, France or elsewhere. ”
And what use does the Agency give to its budget?
“It is divided into many areas, some of the internal structure and payment to the payroll, and the most important part goes to the gatherings or is intended to subsidize groups that despite its artistic quality hardly make anything in the box office. Among these ‘protected’ groups in our catalog is Anima Mundi, which cultivates the symphonic rock and between September and October will tour Europe, where the art rock is well received
“In Cuba, according to data provided exclusively to this magazine by Cuban Agency of Musical Copyright (ACDAM), the gross revenues from the use of Cuban musical works in 2013 was 37 million pesos between the two currencies (national and convertibles) pesos. The Cuban rock is not among the most traded.
“In fact, of the more than 11,000 singers and songs owners associated with ACDAM, Israel Rojas, Osmani Spinoza and Descemer Bueno, are at the top of the list of most played alongside classics that” never go down “as Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes and Miguel Matamoros.”
