Grenada is home to a bustling music scene, and its jazz, reggae, dancehall and Soca artists compete on the world stage. Jevaughn John, better known as V’ghn, is a 28-year-old Soca musician, songwriter and producer. He has a global following of nearly 100,000 listeners on Spotify and recently signed a deal with Virgin Records. Here, he shares key lessons he has learned growing up in the music industry.
As a child, Jevaughn John listened to his father play guitar every night and danced his afternoons away at the Spices Dance Company in Gouyave, Grenada. He spent six years being molded into a performer and started making music at the age of 11 in a Soca duo.
He was 16 when he won recognition as a solo artist at the 2013 National Soca Monarch competition in Grenada. Six years later, he won the International Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad and Tobago and was the first musician from Grenada ever to place in the top three. His song “Trouble in the Morning” won in the Groovy category.
That same year, V’ghn was made a cultural ambassador for Grenada, and Carriacou and Petite Martinique, in acknowledgement of his contribution at such a young age to his country’s music industry. In April 2025, he became the latest IP Youth Ambassador for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
“I am proud to be a WIPO IP Youth Ambassador for Grenada,” V’ghn said when he heard the news. “I want to represent what my industry can offer by setting a good example for young creatives like myself.”
V’ghn had always produced and distributed his music himself, but in 2025 he signed a 10-song deal with London-based EGA Distro Ltd, a label under Virgin Records. Before signing, he did a deep dive into intellectual property (IP), trying to learn as much as he could. He settled on a 10-song deal in order to keep the master recordings and remain an independent artist.
“The industry can be unforgiving, so the most important thing artists can do is to protect themselves and learn about their rights, which includes their IP,” explains V’ghn. “There is no pension in music, and artists need to remember that, sometimes, the business of it is way more important than recording in the studio.”
IP for artists like me shouldn’t just start and end with copyright.
Like most artists, he earns 60 per cent of his income from performing, while streaming provides only 15 per cent. He is also partnering with brands to promote their products among his audience. Through that experience, he has learned another side of IP.
“IP for artists like me shouldn’t just start and end with copyright,” he says. Trademarks are important too. "The branding and business side of my work is how I can see myself sustaining my future with music.”
As a songwriter, what matters most to him is being credited for his work. “I've written songs for my friends in the industry, like Nadia Batson, Blaxx, Skinny Fabulous and Konshens, to name a few. Sometimes they ask me to write them, and other times I just come up with songs that would go better with them. I don't usually ask for remuneration for the lyrics – just credit for my contribution.”
V'ghn is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Collective Organization for Music Rights (ECCO) Inc. and relies on its support for copyright to his music in the region.
“You can’t be on the stage forever, but your music will stream forever, because music never dies. So, as creatives it is important to ensure that our IP is copyrighted and taken care of, because it will not just benefit us but also give our descendants a chance at a good life.”
He is currently working on his new EP, which is slated to come out in the spring of 2025.
Read more about the IP Youth Ambassadors, an international awards program run by WIPO Academy that recognizes young, innovative, energetic and creative minds for their contribution to creativity and innovation. You can find the full ambassador profiles online.
