Wyclef Jean came to the Island Music Conference in Kingston on a mission – a mission to educate artists on business.

Not hype – business.

For young folks, Wyclef Jean has not really been on the scene since the Fugees, a group catapulted to superstar status back in the day.

The Fugees sold 23 million records, making them one of the biggest-selling rap groups of all time.

Wyclef came to IMC to educate those kids, reminding them not only has he never left but he has also been busy acquiring what he terms “real power”.

He came to share the lesson on how he got that power.

He made it known that true financial power, especially for an artiste, is having your art make you money while you are “eating popcorn at home” . That is what Wyclef has achieved.

The central focus of his presentation – protect your “sync” (or as others call it, your publishing rights).

Wyclef rattled off example after example of a song or hook he created which has been used years after its original creation.

Some of those songs/hooks were a huge success, some were not. But by retaining the ownership of his creation, anyone who wants to sample his work has to give him a cut in the form of cash.

Wycelf’s “syncs” have been sampled not once but twice in the Superbowl – Rihanna’s Wild Thoughts and Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie.

His permission was required for the performance of both of those songs at America’s largest sporting event. That is power!

Wyclef’s music has been sampled in movie trailers (e.g. Mission Impossible) and video games (e.g. Madden). Every time his music is used, he gets a cheque.

Hailing from the Caribbean island of Haiti, Wyclef is a three-time Grammy Award winner. In 2021, CelebrityNetWorth estimated his net worth to be US$10 million.

He urged artistes to keep creating – every three or four months, put up a song on your platform. Build your catalogue. But hold up – before that happens, artistes need to accumulate knowledge.

Wyclef points out that many artistes upload their art to platforms but do not read and understand the fine print as to the ownership of the art that is uploaded.

Being an artiste is not only about creating, It is about protecting your creation he pointed out.

Wyclef declared to the attendees to know your value and do not give it away. Do not be tempted by the guy who wants to give you US$100,000 today for your art because that guy is going to make US$20 million from your art tomorrow.

In short, own what you create.