Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016

The creative industries sector is big business in Brazil. It employs over 11 million people and

according to the Secretariat of the Creative Economy, a policy body under the Ministry of

Culture, persons within this sector can earn up to 42% more than the national average.

After a decade of growth averaging 5%, Brazil’s

economy is now the 6th largest in the world. The

sheer size of its market has earned the country a

place among the much talked about BRIC (Brazil,

Russia,IndianandChina)emergingeconomiesthat

are leading global market expansion. Brazil, along

withtheothernations,isanalluringtargetformany

Caribbean manufacturing and service firms, but

market entry has remained somewhat mysterious.

CARICOMdoesnothaveafreetradeagreementin

placewithBrazilandwhiletradebetweentheregion

and Brazil has increased in the recent past, it has

mostly been to the benefit of Brazilian companies.

Aswithmost new things, theremay be trepidation

on the part of Caribbean musical acts, due to the

unfamiliarity of the market, but it should not be

an impediment, especially considering the vast

opportunities that are available.

The creative industries sector is big business in

Brazil. It employs over 11 million people and

according to the Secretariat of the Creative

Economy, a policy body under the Ministry of

Culture, persons within this sector can earn

up to 42% more than the national average. In

the first decade of the 21st century, Brazilian

music exports averaged 15% growth year-

on-year, but saturation within the diaspora

markets and the universality provided by the

advent of the digital content revolution has

greatly slowed this figure in the past five years.

According to the International Federation of

the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) which tracks

music sales worldwide, the Brazilian recorded

music industry grew by 2% in 2014 to US$246

million, with 30% of that growth being generated

from digital music sales.

In keeping with the trend worldwide, piracy has

become a major issue in Brazil, which has led to

a contraction of major labels such as Sony and

Warner in the market. Many independent labels,

such as SomLivre, have been able to compete with

the bigger players by utilising a full servicemodel

whereby an artist’s content delivery, performance

andmerchandising are all handled by one entity.

These independents are more flexible than the

majors and have been able to adapt to meet

the needs of the Brazilian public with regard

to content. For more established artists in the

Caribbean, negotiating distribution with one

of the larger independent labels in Brazil is a

potential avenue to access the market.

Local demand for content has continued to grow

in unique ways in an evolving market. One of the

primarymechanisms for content delivery ismobile

phones. Household Internet penetration rates are

low inBrazil butmobile penetration is high. There

is opportunity, therefore, to target Brazil via digital

downloads andmobile service providers. In 2015,

28.2% of Brazilians were accessing their content

through subscription services. Many artists in the

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