![ECCO Head Office in Saint Lucia [Photo credit :ECCO]](https://thevoiceslu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ECCO-Head-Office-in-Saint-Lucia.jpg)
This week, ECCO proudly announced its second major royalty distribution for 2025, totalling $1.3 million XCD for the period 2024.
This follows the organisation’s first distribution for 2025 in June, which yielded over $1 million XCD for rights holders. Creators can expect this latest distribution to reach their bank accounts on Thursday, December 4th, 2025.
These funds represent the royalties earned from music usage throughout the Eastern Caribbean. Notably, 52% of this amount will be allocated to ECCO members across the OECS, while the remaining 48% will be distributed to international rights holders through ECCO’s affiliated societies.
The increased share for ECCO members reflects a renewed strategy and enhanced data collection from local live events, stated an ECCO spokesperson.
However, ECCO emphasizes a critical challenge hindering larger payouts for local creatives: many musical works utilized in the region remain unregistered in our database. Without proper registration, the agency says it lacks the data needed to identify rightful creators, which prevents them from distributing the royalties these works have earned.
Undistributed funds will remain in trust until identified claimants come forward. If these royalties remain unclaimed after three years, they will be reallocated and redistributed to registered members and societies that have documented usage during subsequent distribution cycles.
Revenue for this distribution stems from ECCO’s licensing agreements with a variety of music users, including television and radio stations, live concerts, festivals, and hospitality venues like hotels, restaurants, and bars across six territories.
“We take pride in concluding the year with this significant distribution following our June payment,” said Martin A. James, CEO of ECCO.
He added, “The fact that over half of this pay-out remains with creators in our region clearly demonstrates the strength of our local music industry. Sustaining this financial support is crucial to our mission, especially as we confront regional challenges. We are committed to bolstering the creative sector and urge all music users to collaborate with us to ensure every creator is fairly compensated for their work.”
This substantial pay-out is particularly remarkable, given the on-going challenges in the region. Persistent non-compliance, legislative inconsistencies, a lack of respect for copyright by authorities, and resource limitations for enforcement continue to hinder the industry.
Despite these obstacles, ECCO’s collections and distributions consistently show an upward trend, highlighting the untapped economic potential of the orange economy and the organisation’s unwavering dedication to its mission and vision.
In a statement, the Chairman of ECCO’s Board of Directors, Bruno Leonce, emphasized this achievement’s significance despite ongoing difficulties: “Both distributions in 2025 exemplify what can be accomplished when we uphold the rights of creators, even amid a challenging climate of widespread non-compliance and indifference towards intellectual property laws. It underscores the immense value of our music.”
However, he cautioned, “This is only the beginning. Imagine the possibilities if every broadcaster, venue, and business adhered to and respected the laws. Our creators deserve a comprehensive system where their work is consistently and fairly rewarded.”
ECCO remains a dominant force within the OECS music landscape, having operated since 2009. It effectively connects creators from six Eastern Caribbean nations to the global music rights management network.
“We sincerely thank our members and partners for their unwavering trust,” James said. “We are resolutely committed to ensuring the music from our region is valued, protected, and compensated properly, both locally and internationally.”