Known as the Beautiful Dreamer, Chrycee provides insight into online copyright from a recording artist’s perspective and shares with Aphaia some good practices on social media privacy.
Chrycee, how important are online music sales for you as a recording artist? Which online outlets / platforms do you use and which of them are most important for you?
In today’s digital age, where almost everything is available at the click of a button, and where a lot is now electronically done, online sales are vital to me as an artiste. In terms of sales and streaming of my music I use an online distribution site, www.cdbaby.com , which in turn distributes my musics to online music sites like iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, Spotify, etc. I’d say they are all important as they provide a wide reach over which music lovers can become aware of me and my music and purchase or stream my music.
Do you find that the copyright system is sufficiently rewarding for you as an artist? Or should it be improved?
In terms of efficiency, I believe the one copyright society that we have in St Lucia [my home country] is efficient. However, on the island and in the wider Eastern Caribbean region we are still limited since, outside of administration of performance rights for authors and publishers for the public use and broadcast of music, there are currently no collective societies administering other rights. However, I do know that as of next year some new rights will be administered by the one existing society so I look forward to that.
In terms of sufficiently rewarding, if we are talking financially, I would candidly say no not at present, although I have seen an annual increase year over year which is promising. Understandably however, the level of revenue generated is limited by a number of factors, which includes local airplay on island, and the number of licensed entities. The airplay limitations are based on a number of factors, some outside of my business reach and some within. Nonetheless, I am encouraged by trends and I think with continued effort, specifically for the areas that are within my business scope, it can eventually get to a point where it is sufficiently rewarding.
Artists like you nowadays normally share bits and pieces of their private life on social media to increase publicity. Where do you personally place the limit between publicity and your private life?
Hmmm… interesting question. For the most part my private life is not shared shared publicly via social media. That is on account of my personality and my personal view of social media use. Rather outside of sharing tidbits related to my musical journey, I do my best to use social media as a platform to inspire other Beautiful Dreamers like myself to go out wholeheartedly and pursue their passions. Of course if there is a personal tidbit which I believe can be helpful or inspirational in any way to those Beautiful Dreamers then I share. But I am very guarded and deliberate about the extent of what I share on social media.
Do you have any negative experience sharing your personal information online? Any recommendations for your fans in that regard?
To date I have not had any negative experience sharing personal information online. I believe this is as a result of the fact that I am very guarded about what mediums, sites and platforms I utilise, and also limit what I share to what is necessary. I’d essentially advise individuals to be extremely mindful of the sites on which they share their personal information, especially credit and financial data. Do your best to ensure the site is secure and in cases where it is a site or medium you have never used before and are unaware of their safety and track record, conduct a little research first. Additionally I would say be extremely mindful of sharing any information online that you would never want publicly available.
