Kiprich told the students to ensure that they register their work so they will be able to benefit from royalties. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

On April 28, 36 students in the Diageo/Red Stripe Learning for Life Project Artiste course had a platinum experience. It was the name given to the session by its organisers and also aptly described the value of the information they received from established entertainers Kiprich, To-Isis and emerging gospel artiste Omari.

As they waited to hear from the entertainers, some students, who had gathered at the Vibes, a sports bar on the Red Stripe complex on Spanish Town Road, said they wanted to hear about what goes into songwriting, how artistes remain relevant in a competitive marketplace and what it feels like to be inside the industry. The students were straining at the leash when Kiprich and Omari finally arrived.

Kiprich spoke for a few minutes about his entry into the world of entertainment and advised the students that they had to treat their careers in entertainment like they would any other career; they had to work at it. He also advised them to ensure that they got their work registered so they could benefit from royalties, which he described as their pension, and that they had to be versatile and constantly employ their creativity.

The questions came fast while the singer, who used hilarious anecdotes to reinforce some of his responses, answered them as best he could. He told the students that from the outside it looked "glittery" but there were potential pitfalls and challenges in overcoming obstacles they would encounter from people, including established entertainers, who might be envious or feel threatened by them.

Kiprich said afterwards that he was humbled by being able to participate in the programme. "It was a good experience being there and talking to the students," he said. "They had a lot of questions and I tried to answer from my experiences in the music industry, so I hope they learnt something. It's good to see that kind of programme from Red Stripe and Heart trying to help the ghetto youths and the future of the music."

Omari reinforced much of what Kiprich said, including imploring the students to remain focused on their work and ensure that they understood the business side of the industry in order to maximise their earning potential. He explained that those who wanted to be entertainers needed to understand that when time comes for them to discuss business, they needed to leave their entertainer personas behind. There was no need for the drama at business meetings, he said.

Working together

Omari informed them that the entertainment industry is about several groups of people working together to achieve a single objective. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

He added that the entertainment industry was about several groups of people working together to achieve a single objective and implored the students to bear that in mind at all times.

To-Isis employed a more practical approach. They elaborated on the business side of the industry and then divided the students into two groups - the technical people in one. They were supposed to manage a girl group and say how they were going to promote and market the group.

The second group comprised of deejays and singers in pairs. Each deejay and singer was to act as professional artistes being asked to do a collaboration.

Several of the students said they were very impressed. "It was mind-boggling," said Shane Brown. "We got three levels in one. We learnt a lot about intellectual property from Omari, and Kiprich taught us several other things. It was a really good experience," he said.