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Global market demand for cultural commodities continues to rise steadily, particularly within the entertainment and media industry. In 2003, global expenditure on entertainment and media surpassed US$1.1 trillion. Trinidad and Tobago has long contributed to the phenomenal growth of the global entertainment landscape, in terms of inventing the steel pan as well as providing raw talent and artistry in many areas. This industry has experienced tremendous growth since the 1960s due to the increasing external demand for assistance with the burgeoning Trinidad-type carnival celebrations throughout the region and across the globe. The opportunities for the entertainment industry in Trinidad and Tobago are vast: Soca music mixed with other genres such as dancehall and pop is appealing to global market Growing recognition among private sector enterprises of the value of investing in the entertainment industry Allocation of a Grammy awards category to Soca for 2006 Rising media interest in Carnival arts and artists; and Global visual art is expanding to encompass design, animation and architecture.
As such, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has established the Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Company (T&T Ent) to facilitate the development of a globally competitive entertainment industry. The objectives of T&T Ent are as follows: To facilitate international exposure of our local entertainers; To market and promote the national creativity; To ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is identified not only as the home of steel pan and Carnival but also as the home of soca, chutney and calypso; To influence positive perception of Trinidad and Tobago’s arts and culture abroad; To assist local entertainers and artistes in accessing funding for projects geared towards the export market; and To facilitate private sector investment both locally and abroad into the entertainment industry.
In order to achieve its main objective of facilitating the internationalization of the industry, the main projects of T&T Ent will include: A Revolving Investment Arrangement (RIA) for artistes to aid in major projects in market development; music production, video production, theatrical productions and touring, as well as implementation of export plans; Familiarization Tours of the country for international executives in the music industry and successful Trinbagonian visual and performing artistes living abroad to assist in exporting our local talent and products; Archiving, Research and Development to facilitate proper archiving of our creative works as well as continuous assessment of the growth and development of the entertainment industry through benchmarking with international developments; Marketing and Promotion to establish and maintain global linkages for the industry using the targeted marketing by a local music expert living abroad, and purchasing airtime on international mainstream broadcast media. The company will also facilitate the annual participation of artists in International Music Festivals such as MIDEM; Joint venture projects to stage International Promotional Music Concerts and Major Theatrical Productions abroad; T&T Ent Online for downloads of the collected archives of our local soca, chutney, calypso and other genres of music and music videos, as well as visual art, dance and theatrical productions. In addition, there will be a national database of artistes and cultural entrepreneurs as an Entertainment Directory. 
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