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According to the 2024 transparency report, sent to World Music Views by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), the total amount of money sent by PPL to Jamaica Music Societies (JAMMS) was £48,000 (approximately J$10.2 million). This included £20,000 for performers (about J$4.2 million) and £28,000 for recording rightsholders (about J$6 million). Of the total amount received from PPL by JAMMS, 7 percent was deducted to cover administrative costs, with the remaining balance distributed to members, exclusively to recording rightsholders and performers.
PPL, the UK’s primary organisation for neighbouring rights in sound recordings announced this week that it had distributed £54.3 million to creators in 2025.
Seeking clarity on how those international figures intersect with local collections and payouts, World Music Views spoke by phone with Evon Mullings, the general manager of JAMMS.
The conversation began informally, with Mullings apologising for a delayed response.
“Yeah man. Alright, so sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you yesterday,” he said. “It was really just one of those impossible days… having to represent the service for Jimmy Cliff yesterday.”
Once pleasantries were out of the way, the discussion turned to numbers—specifically, how much money JAMMS has collected, how much has been distributed, and to whom.
Mullings was mum on exactly how much the organization has collected and agreed to share what he described as “headline numbers.”
Evon Mullings, General Manager for JAMMS“What I can give you is headline information such as the overall payout to date by JAMMS,” he said. “And what we’re looking at is approximately over half a billion dollars. Let’s just keep it simple. Jamaican.”
Asked to clarify the time period, he added: “Over how many years? Eighteen, nineteen years now… to be precise, it’s 565 million. It’s heading to 600 million.”
The Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) was officially launched in November 2007, though it was incorporated as a non-profit under Jamaica’s Copyright Act in 2006 to manage performers’ and producers’ rights, starting full operations in 2007.
But Mullings stressed that while JAMMS pays monies received from overseas to performers, the funds collected locally are not made to performers.
“This is paid out to rights holders, meaning record producers,” he said, referring to JAMMS’ remit within the Jamaican market.
That distinction lies at the heart of mounting criticism facing the organisation. In June, JAMMS announced that it would enforce 100 percent copyright compliance for events using recorded music, warning promoters that parties without permits would not be allowed within six months. The move, JAMMS says, is designed to protect intellectual property. Many artists and selectors see it differently.
Reggae producer and artist Buju Banton was among the most vocal critics in the comment section under the announcement.
“Where is all the money unu collected over the years?” he asked publicly after the announcement. “What have u people done with it?”
Banton, who has been active in the industry since 1992 but is not a member of JAMMS, said he knows of no entertainer who has benefited directly from those collections. “I can’t recall one single entertainer who was compensated as a result of his or her music being played at any event,” he said.
Dancehall artist Spragga Benz echoed the sentiment, questioning the intent behind the crackdown. “I doubt this is for artist protection,” he said. “The system hate to see ghetto people find an outlet that they can’t steal tax or manipulate.”
Beyond local collections, Mullings said JAMMS has also facilitates international royalty flows on behalf of Jamaican rights holders.
“In terms of royalties from overseas, which is separate, [we’re] looking at approximately $130 million to date. Jamaican,” he said.
Those funds, he explained, come from more than 40 territories worldwide, including the UK, the United States, Germany and France.
Asked which market contributes the most, Mullings replied: “It’s between the USA and the UK… but I’d probably shoot for the UK. When you combine the producers’ royalties with the performers’ royalties, the UK market is topping the USA right now.”
Yet even here, a legal gap limits who benefits. Mullings acknowledged that JAMMS is currently unable to collect neighbouring rights locally on behalf of performers.
“In Jamaica, just to be clear for the record, we are still unable to collect on behalf of performers,” he said, citing the absence of statutory remuneration rights for broadcast and public performance of sound recordings. “Jamaica remains one of the very few territories internationally that hasn’t yet enacted into law the remainder of performers’ rights.”
Most countries implemented those rights in the early 2000s following World Intellectual Property Organization treaties. Jamaica did not.
“Since 2015, JAMMS has been at the forefront pushing, advocating, lobbying,” Mullings said. “The provisions are in a draft bill, but it has not yet been tabled in Parliament.”
He added that the process is advanced, with hopes the legislation could be passed within the next year.
When asked again how much JAMMS paid out in 2024 or expects to distribute in 2025, Mullings declined to provide figures.
“We’re not releasing that right now,” he said. “That’s going to be in our January 4 publication.”
He cautioned that raw figures can be misleading. “Numbers can tell many stories,” he said, “and sometimes how it is carried can make the world of difference in how people receive it.”
World Music Views countered with its editorial position: what cannot be measured cannot be meaningfully assessed—and accountability in the music business ultimately depends on numbers.
Where Things Stand
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PPL distributed £54.3 million globally this year
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Jamaican rights holders received just under £40,000 from PPL last year with the UK currently being Jamaica’s leading royalty market.
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JAMMS says it has paid out J$565 million over 18–19 years (So on average, JAMMS has paid out roughly J$30–31 million per year.)
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An additional J$130 million has been collected from overseas
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Jamaican performers still lack local neighbouring rights due to gaps in the law
More detailed figures, JAMMS says, will be released on January 4.
English (US) ·