A music game played on Apple’s mobile operating system will feature a song from regional intellectual property company Caribbean 2 World (C2W).

“Just this week, Tap Tap Revenge licensed one of our songs,” said Ivan Berry, C2W’s chief executive officer.

The song, We want drinkz, can be heard when gamers play Tap Tap Revenge on either their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Berry said the song, written by King Bubba FM, Lil Rick and Corey Forde will soon be released globally.

C2W, a newly incorporated Caribbean-based and Caribbean-owned music publishing company, listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Junior Market earlier this year. The company earns through performance royalties, from music played via media outlets; mechanical royalties, from the sale of compact discs and digital units; and synchronisation royalties, from music used or adopted in movies and television advertisements.

The business model is aimed at generating sustainable income through the ownership of Caribbean intellectual property, which is very valuable on the international market, he said.

C2W is presently having talks with world renown rights management company BMG, to have them be its administrator on the international scene, and the Caribbean company act as BMG’s agent and sub-publisher in the region.

“That will create great revenue for us,” Berry said, noting that BMG has a catalogue of hundreds of thousands of songs.

Berry disclosed that C2W developed new alliances with several labels at a songwriting camp it hosted in Jamaica last month. In attendance were Max Gousse, senior vice- president of the Island Def Jam Records label as well as members of the Colombia Records and Universal Music, he noted.

The camp, held in Negril, focused on writing for Jennifer Hudson, among other international singers. Some of the writers in attendance have penned lyrics for Chris Brown, Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Madonna, and Usher, C2W said.

“We are making a model for creativity, a model for intellectual property, and wealth management,” Berry said. “The company wants to show investors and shareholders that there is value in the creative industries, and intellectual property can be a source of export.”

So far, Berry noted that the company has surpassed its initial business plan with 660 songs growing at 30 songs per month. But royalties are made within six to eight months after a song has made its impact.

“We hope to see revenue in the second quarter of next year,” he said.

Listing on the JSE was C2W’s way of formalising the industry to make it transparent and show that music publishing is an area to be taken seriously. C2W’s initial public offering attracted just over $129 million.

With the global trade of creative goods valued at more than US$500 billion ($45 trillion), it’s important that Caribbean countries get serious about intellectual property, Berry said.

C2W’s songwriters sign a propriety licensing and publication agreement with the company, under which royalty earnings from published songs are split 50:50. The writers bring the talent, and C2W brings the resources, Berry noted.