The Caribbean has four distinct performing rights organisations covering different island territories: JACAP in Jamaica, COTT in Trinidad and Tobago, ECCO across the Eastern Caribbean, and JAMMS for mechanical rights. Understanding which collects what — and how they interact with PRS for Music — is essential for any UK-Caribbean artist with royalties in the region.
Why the Caribbean has multiple PROs
The Caribbean is not a single royalty collection territory. It is a region of distinct nation-states, each with its own copyright law, its own collecting society, and its own licensing framework. The major music markets in the Caribbean — Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Guyana, and others — each have their own approach to performing rights administration, and the four organisations below cover the bulk of the region. Understanding which organisation covers which territory, and how each connects to international reciprocal networks, is the first step to claiming income generated across the Caribbean as a whole.
JACAP — Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers
JACAP is Jamaica's performing rights organisation, licensing the public performance and broadcast of musical works throughout Jamaica. It is the most commercially significant Caribbean PRO by volume, given the global influence of Jamaican music genres: reggae, dancehall, rocksteady, ska, and their descendants. JACAP has a reciprocal agreement with PRS for Music, meaning UK-registered PRS members can receive JACAP-sourced income through their PRS account for Jamaican performances of their works. JACAP is the correct PRO to engage with for any music that has meaningful presence in Jamaica — radio airplay, sound system performance, streaming via Caribbean platforms, and live venue use. Register at jacap.org. Works must be registered at both JACAP and PRS for the reciprocal to function correctly.
COTT — Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago
COTT (Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago) is the performing rights organisation for Trinidad and Tobago, covering music licensing and royalty collection for soca, calypso, chutney, parang, steelband, and other music performed in one of the Caribbean's most active music economies. Trinidad and Tobago's carnival season is one of the most commercially significant music events in the Caribbean, generating substantial licensing income from carnival fetes, Panorama (the national steelband competition), Dimanche Gras, and associated events. COTT collects from radio, television, streaming, nightclubs, hotels, and public performance venues throughout Trinidad and Tobago. COTT has reciprocal agreements with international PROs including PRS, meaning UK-registered writers whose compositions are performed in Trinidad receive income via the COTT-PRS reciprocal. Register at cott.org.tt.
ECCO — Eastern Caribbean Collective Organisation
ECCO is the collecting organisation covering the Eastern Caribbean, specifically Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica. ECCO was established to provide collective licensing infrastructure for territories that individually lacked the capacity to run standalone PROs. It issues blanket licences to broadcasters, hotels, nightclubs, and event organisers across its member territories and distributes the collected income to rights holders via its member societies and international reciprocals. ECCO is a CISAC (Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs) affiliate, which is the key credential for international reciprocal agreements. UK artists with audience presence in the Eastern Caribbean — Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia — access their ECCO-sourced income via PRS if their works are correctly registered.
JAMMS — Jamaica Music Society
JAMMS (Jamaica Music Society) is Jamaica's mechanical rights organisation, distinct from JACAP which handles performing rights. Where JACAP covers the royalty generated when a composition is performed or broadcast, JAMMS covers the royalty generated when a composition is mechanically reproduced — on physical formats, digital downloads, and streaming. This mirrors the UK distinction between PRS (performance) and MCPS (mechanical). JAMMS administers mechanical licensing in Jamaica and distributes mechanical royalties to registered rights holders. For a UK songwriter whose compositions are commercially reproduced in Jamaica (pressed on vinyl or CD, distributed digitally in Jamaica, or licensed for Jamaican streaming services), JAMMS is the relevant organisation for the mechanical component. JAMMS has international reciprocal relationships for mechanical rights collection.
How these four organisations connect to PRS for Music
PRS for Music has reciprocal agreements with all four of the above organisations, meaning UK-registered PRS members can receive income from across the Caribbean without needing direct membership in each local society. The mechanism is: the local Caribbean PRO collects a royalty (say, from a Jamaican radio station playing your track), identifies it as belonging to a work registered with PRS, and routes the income to PRS for distribution to you. This system works correctly when your works are registered at PRS with complete, accurate metadata — correct titles, correct co-writer splits, correct ISWC codes, and consistent artist and publisher names across your catalog. Metadata gaps or mismatches at PRS are the most common reason Caribbean reciprocal income fails to reach UK artists.
What income Caribbean artists commonly miss
These are the most frequent gaps in Caribbean royalty collection for UK-based artists:
- Works not registered at PRS: the reciprocal system can only route income to you if PRS has a record of your work. Unregistered compositions generate Caribbean royalties that go into undistributed pools.
- JACAP not receiving UK-artist registrations in time: there is a lag between UK release and Caribbean adoption. Works registered late at PRS may miss early Caribbean distribution cycles.
- Sound system income: sound system performance is a significant income source for reggae and dancehall compositions but is frequently under-reported by event organisers to JACAP.
- Mechanical income via JAMMS: many UK artists have their performing rights covered by PRS-JACAP reciprocal but have never engaged with the JAMMS mechanical side for reproductions in Jamaica.
- ECCO territories overlooked: artists with Caribbean fanbase concentrated in Barbados or St Lucia may not realise ECCO covers those territories differently from JACAP or COTT.
Practical steps for UK-Caribbean artists
A UK-Caribbean artist with meaningful audience presence in the region should take the following steps to ensure full collection:
- Confirm PRS membership and register all compositions with accurate metadata (ISWC, correct splits, complete co-author details).
- Check whether the JACAP-PRS reciprocal is active on your PRS account for Jamaican income; contact PRS member services if unsure.
- For significant Jamaican performance or airplay, consider direct JACAP registration to give you direct visibility of Jamaican distributions.
- For Trinidad and Tobago carnival-season income, confirm COTT registration is in place or that the COTT-PRS reciprocal is correctly routing.
- Engage a publishing administrator familiar with Caribbean PROs to audit your current setup and identify what is being collected versus what should be collected.
Code Group Music provides publishing administration for UK-Caribbean artists, covering PRS registration, Caribbean reciprocal coordination, and ongoing catalog maintenance. Our free catalog assessment identifies where Caribbean royalties are being lost. Start at codegroupmusic.co.uk/#catalog-assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to register separately with JACAP, COTT, and ECCO?
Not necessarily. If you are a PRS member with correctly registered works, the PRS reciprocal agreements with JACAP, COTT, and ECCO should route Caribbean income to you automatically. Direct registration with each local PRO is most valuable if you have significant in-territory activity and want direct visibility of those distributions.
What is the difference between JACAP and JAMMS?
JACAP collects performing rights royalties — income from broadcast, public performance, and streaming when your composition is communicated to an audience. JAMMS collects mechanical rights royalties — income from reproduction of your composition on physical or digital formats. They cover different rights from the same piece of music.
Which Caribbean PRO covers Barbados?
ECCO — the Eastern Caribbean Collective Organisation — covers Barbados, along with Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, St Vincent, and Dominica.
How do I know if my Caribbean royalties are being collected?
Request a breakdown of international distributions from your PRS account. Caribbean-sourced income should appear under the relevant territory codes. If you have had consistent airplay or performance in Jamaica, Trinidad, or the Eastern Caribbean and see no income from those territories, it is likely a registration or metadata gap rather than a collection failure.
Does COTT only collect for Trinidad carnival music?
No. COTT covers all music performed, broadcast, or played publicly in Trinidad and Tobago, regardless of genre. Soca and calypso dominate the volume because of carnival, but royalties for reggae, R&B, pop, gospel, and other genres performed in Trinidad also flow through COTT.
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