The future of entertainment is bright believes Stuart Hayward despite his hard-hitting report on the problems within the sector.

He called on Government to appoint a facilitator to help entertainers rebuild their union after past leaders kept jobs for themselves and stitched up the constitution leading to a loss of support.

Mr. Hayward said Government, which had commissioned the report, needed to expand the venues for live performances, spearhead collaboration between performers and venue operators and foster development of relationship and business skills.

Entertainment legislation had either been unworkable, not enforced or detrimental such as the law in St. George's against buskers, he said.

“There is a role Government can play, they can expand music education.”

Delivering a summary of report at Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday Mr. Hayward said: “There were leadership abuses in the 1960s and since. The leaders were always working. When there were no jobs available the leaders of the union were always working.”

Regular and proper elections are a must as is financial accountability said the report.

Mr. Hayward said it was time to remove the link between tourism and entertainment after the decline in visitor numbers led hotels to downsize or eliminate live shows.

Calypso players had dominated the union leadership said Mr. Hayward, reinforcing the grip of that genre over others.

But hotels had started the Calypso trend after deciding to market Bermuda as a Caribbean destination.

Calypso, a music Mr. Hayward said originated in Cuba, forced out talented jazz, pop and rock musicians.

He said one hotel owner had said he wanted “Bermudians bare foot jumping up and down in grass skirts” and that one group had been told they were too professional.

Performance standards declined and people had left the business while the move to DJs and disco had played into the hands of hoteliers eager to cut costs.

Food and beverage managers were put in charge and they viewed musicians as another line item at hotels.

“When they wanted to improved the budget they cut down from big bands to quartets to trios.”

It was time to end the conflict between tourism and business and realise both leisure tourism and business tourism could be exploited said Mr. Hayward, arguing that they both created a demand for entertainment.

Employers and entertainers needed to end their conflict said Mr. Hayward.

Entertainers needed to be respected and paid properly after a history of being undervalued although Mr. Hayward said his study had revealed some were being overpaid for their talents which was just as bad.

Employers should see musicians as adding value, like air conditioning, rather than an additional overhead to be cut when times got tough.

The union needed to expand its services by providing practice rooms, business instruction and marking skills.

“The future of entertainment is very bright,” said Mr. Hayward who said employers and musicians needed to get on board.

The report was commissioned by Community Affairs and Sports Minister Dale Butler last year.

It was compiled with the help of a focus group of Gita Blakeney, Tony Brannon, David Dodwell, Laura Gorham, Shine Hayward, Selena Lambert, Derek Morris and James Richardson.