Reggae 50

Groundins

By: Charles H.E.Campbell

Exactly two weeks from today the official Reggae Month activities start with the Dennis Brown Concert on Sunday, January 29; the theme – Reggae 50: Jamaica’s Heart and Soul. The entire festival is geared towards celebrating 50 years of Jamaica’s independence, and also, 50 years of modern Jamaican musical idioms.

While we recognize that the modern recording industry began in 1951 with Stanley Motta doing the first recordings of Mento music, it wasn’t until 1962 that Ska fully evolved and was recognized as the forerunner to other musical idioms such as Rock Steady, Dub, Dub Poetry, Reggae and, most recently, Dancehall music.

2012 is also the 5th year that we’re formally saluting Reggae during February. As is customary, this joint project organized by JaRIA, the Dennis Brown Foundation and Sounds & Pressure, will block off Orange Street, showcasing the area where Dennis Brown spent most of his years as well as celebrating his prolific career through a presentation of his music from various artistes including Damian and Stephen Marley, Tarrus Riley, Cocoa Tea, Junior Reid, Beres Hammond, Half Pint, Jimmy Riley and Ken Boothe.

The stars seem perfectly aligned for a great celebration, given the fact that 2012 is a leap year, and February starts and ends on a Wednesday. We have five Wednesdays to stage our Reggae Nights at Edna Manley College which, more than any other event of the month, have become the flagship events.

Reggae Month 2012 will feature at least one event per day.

Weekly Events
Weekly Events include special programs produced by JaRIA at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, which highlight the social backdrop and the genres of Reggae, dramatically chronicling the movement of the Reggae experience through a series of five live concerts featuring Maroon Drumming, Gospel, Folk, Mento, Jazz and Classical; Ska and Rocksteady; Reggae, Rockers, Dub and Dub Poetry; Dancehall and Alternative.

Confirmed acts include:

Wednesday February 1
Classical, Jazz, Mento and Ska
EMC String Ensemble, Pimento Players, Samuel Felsted Chamber Orchestra & Chamber Music Group. Jamaica Symphony Orchestra, Gilzene and the Blue Light Mento Band, Jamarokaz, Maurice Gordon Quartet, Yard Beat, Samuele Vivian.

Wednesday February 8
Reggae Bands: Legends and New Sensations
Chalice, Errol Lee and Bare Essentials, Fab 5, Dubtonic Kru, Uprising Roots, Raging Fyah, C Sharp.

Wednesday February 15
Sly & Robbie and the Taxi Gang plus Dub Poetry
Oku Onuora, Broussai, Mutabaruka, Historyman.

Wednesday February 22
Singers and DJ’s
U-Brown, Busy Signal, Big Youth, Alaine, Romaine Virgo, Chris Martin. Ken Boothe, Johnny Clarke.

Wednesday February 29
Dancehall & Alternative
Mojahrock, Roots Underground, Nomadz, Capleton, Chino, Stephen McGregor
Premium Events

Ecumenical Church Service
In keeping with the spirit of Unity, Reggae Month will host an ecumenical service on Sunday February 5 at 12:00 noon at the University Chapel at the University of the West Indies highlighting Jamaica’s unique gospel sound through a musical presentation including hits like Peter Tosh’s ‘Creation’ and ‘I for Jesus’ by Ernie Smith.

Dance Vibes 50 (February 11)
Dances manifested from, influenced by and evolved through the cultural development of Reggae Music. Leading dance companies and groups in Jamaica will perform dance choreography alongside Jam sessions and discussion forums.

JaRIA Seminars
JaRIA’s mandate to educate and inform its members on matters affecting the industry will be on stage for 2 days during Reggae Month on February 17 & 18 at the Edna Manley College. Presenters will include local experts from within the industry, academia and international experts, who’ll speak on:
- ‘Reggae Going Green’: Will focus on best practices and eco-friendly technology to aid promoters and event planners on making local events more environmentally friendly.
- Sustaining Live Events: Will focus on issues of fundraising for events, sponsorship and local licenses
- International spotlight on Reggae – Looking at the international standards of Reggae towards improving service delivery in areas of Technical production and safety & security standards
- ‘Preserve The Music’ will highlight all copyright and intellectual property issues

Hype and Excitement
The popularity of the sound system in dancehall and Jamaica’s music in general is undeniable and so, on Saturday, February 18 at the Stadium Car Park, Reggae Month will stage a traditional Dance with popular sound systems.

Reggae Runways
On February 24 Reggae Runways fuses fashion with Reggae Music. It will pair the hottest Reggae Artistes with Jamaica’s fierce fashion designers.

JaRIA Honour Awards (February 25)
As demonstrated in previous years (2009, 2010 and 2011), this event provides an authentic barometer for gauging the development of the music and its practitioners. The Honour Awards is a glamorous, star-studded gala event where special recognition is given to industry icons who have figured prominently in the amazing penetration of Jamaican music culture across the world. The intention is to salute significant achievement and red carpet style using the essential elements of a concert format with performances interspersed between presentations of the awards.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

Address for the launch of Rebel Salute 2012 by JaRIA

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

January 3, 2012

Today I bring greetings on behalf of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA). For those who do not know, JaRIA is an umbrella organisation representing the interests of the music industry and unifying the various organisations, such as, Sound System Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), Manifesto Jamaica, and our two main collection agencies, JACAP (Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers), and JAMMS (Jamaica Music Society). Our main mandate is to advocate and lobby on behalf of the Jamaican music and entertainment sectors.




Over its lifespan, this event has shown steady growth, confounding the cynics, until it has now become the single largest, paid, one-night event on Jamaica's cultural calendar (contrary to the boast of others), with a large contingent of overseas-based attendees. Even more profoundly, that achievement comes despite the very weak sponsorship support from both the private and public sector.

Understandably, part of the reason for this, of course, is that some of the biggest sponsors of events in Jamaica are the manufacturers and distributors of alcoholic beverages, the sale of which is forbidden at Rebel Salute, thereby disqualifying their financial endorsement of the festival.

I would like to see Reggae projects like Rebel Salute being treated more even-handedly, having demonstrated their ability, over the years, to attract numerous visitors to the Island as annual patrons of this show. There needs to be more equity in the sponsorship provided for events in the entertainment sector. Family oriented Reggae events have been pushed to the back of the class while events promoting a decadent lifestyle have been getting the lion’s share (pardon the pun) of sponsorship funds from commercial entities who boast everyday about their corporate responsibility and patriotism.

Many commercial entities, such as Jamaica Broilers, Capital and Credit Merchant Bank and Grace Products, have used the popularity of the Reggae brand in naming their flagship products. Many other public and private entities use Reggae Music as the soundtrack of their international marketing campaigns. However, we don’t see Reggae events being given the kind of production and marketing support that one would expect from these entities.

To a great extent, as it relates especially to the private sector entities, in order to obtain reasonable sponsorship from these entities, they require a dilution of the events’ content and brand, and a predominance of the sponsor’s brand in order to qualify for support. This to me is a slippery-slope down which we are sliding, because, when these events lose their essence, then the loss of their audience will quickly follow, to their ultimate demise. Hopefully, from a sponsorship perspective, the organisers of Rebel Salute are witnessing the beginnings of a reversal of this travesty.

Today, I appeal to the captains of industry and their marketing executives to begin to reexamine their strategies in this area, because, the long term interest of Reggae music coincides with their own long-term corporate objectives of successfully marketing their products, both locally and internationally, by identification with the popular Reggae Brand.

Historically, the strong point for the festival has been its ability to successfully market a wholesome, enriching experience encompassing much more than that which occurs from the stage. Rebel Salute treats patrons to a drug-free, violence-free, alcohol-free and meat-free, family-oriented environment; profanity is prohibited, healthy eating is supported and a family vibe is encouraged and highlighted. It highlights the impact of the musical genre on the country’s social, cultural and economic development, sharpening the focus and drawing the attention of the world to this powerful asset that is wholly an indigenous Jamaican product.

One of the primary objectives of Rebel Salute is to promote community tourism while encouraging social and environmental responsibility. Ironically, the present policy of the Jamaica Tourist Board does not allow them to support this niche tourism product called ‘community tourism’ because of security concerns and a fear that if something untoward were to happen, that government agency would be the target of legal action. This is a sad reflection on our country as a whole.

One of the changes we all will have to strive to accomplish in the short term is a significant improvement in the security of our communities and a reduction of our crime rate.

It is my firm belief, that it is through themed events and festivals such as Rebel Salute, that Jamaica’s tourism product will substantially grow in the future. The days of tourists vacationing in Jamaica merely for the sun and the beach are long over. Tourists come to Jamaica to experience our famously dynamic culture and arts.

I dare to say, that the tourism industry should be seen in a broader context aptly called ‘the cultural sector’, and this should be used as a driving force to increase the number of visitors and enhance their experience while vacationing in Jamaica. Community tourism also has many other advantages, the most important one being that it allows the communities to obtain, retain and circulate, in the local economy, a greater percentage of the earnings from this sector. Simultaneously, it gives our visitors a greater appreciation of the warm hospitality and diverse, dynamic cultural norms and manifestations of the Jamaican people.

So, we have to lay the objective conditions to allow the Tourist Board to, once again—as it began doing from way back in the 70’s, feel confident that it can promote community tourism as a main plan of its Brand Jamaica product.

Under Vision 2030, the government committed to strengthen the tourist industry through the provision of a world class Jamaican experience, and Rebel Salute has, for the last 18 years, epitomized the advantages of this strategy.

Secondly, the Vision 2030 reinforces the need to increase the contribution of the creative industries to our economy and taking our culture “to the world” based on the advantages Jamaica has over our competitors with our “Brand Jamaica”. Reggae is undeniably the tool that has made Jamaica a brand name to the rest of the world and is definitely the sound that lures thousands of visitors here each year.

So, Rebel Salute is, undeniably, a pivotal tool that has propelled Jamaica as a brand name internationally, and is definitely at the top of the list of annual events that lures thousands of visitors to Jamaica’s south coast each year.

Email:che.campbell@gmail.com

Dear Queen Portia

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

Greetings Your Majesty,
Congratulations on your coronation. As a lowly subject, may I offer some suggestions?
• Don’t believe that you and your ministers have all the answers; otherwise, you’ll become arrogant and contemptuous of the people, precipitating a cultural backlash. That’s precisely what occurred in this election.
• Always listen to the voice of the people and make their needs the central focus.
• Your Manifesto is ambivalent on the value of Reggae Music; even your economic policies don’t seem to target its promotion and marketing as a main plank of future economic policy. It’s unfortunate since there’s empirical data showing that Reggae Music is Jamaica’s greatest export, contributing significantly to our GDP and employment creation through multi-layered linkages to all sectors of the economy. So I proffer to you my New Year wishes which will only accrue to the benefit of the Jamaican economy and the success of your reign. Pay close attention to the creative industries, especially Reggae Music.
• Establish a national record company for Jamaican Music.

“A nuh political act,
A nuh di coke and di crack
A Reggae put Jamaica pon top
No assumption, this is concrete fact, a Reggae put Jamaica straight up pon di worl’ map.
Stop a lickle, think a lickle, put on yuh thinking cap
Which event inna Jamaica like Rebel Salute or Reggae Sunsplash?
Who establish ova di world like Bob, di dreadlocks?
Bear these things in mind, try nuh figgat
When a good dance a keep, try nuh mek it stop, ‘cause yuh mus remember is di foundation dat.”
Tony Rebel

While the last update of the Noise Abatement Act has served to bring some regulation of the entertainment sector, experience over the recent past has demonstrated an urgent need for further revision and updating of the act. The law needs to be tightened up as it relates to the playing of music in residential areas from Mondays through Thursdays, but there is a need to introduce exemption periods for major holidays.

The stringent, and in some cases, unreasonable enforcement of the night noise act by the police has proven the inherent conflict of interest. Serious consideration should be given to making local parish councils/KSAC the appropriate authorities for issuing permits.

The cultural industries currently pay perversely high tariffs on all its input costs. Parliament needs to pass an Entertainment Encouragement Act. The act would be to provide incentives for the advancement and commercial growth of the Jamaican cultural industries. The music industry should pay GCT at the same rates as the Tourism and Attractions Sectors; the waiver of import duties for tools of trade should be expanded to include not just musical instruments, but equipment for recording studios and live events such as, reinforced sound, stage lighting and band gear.

In collaboration with the local authorities and the entertainment sector the Government should formally establish Entertainment Zones in every parish beginning with Kingston and ST. Andrew, Westmoreland, Hanover, ST. James, Trelawny and ST. Ann as priority areas.

Although local authorities use the issuing of licenses for events to earn income for their operations, very subjective criteria are applied; there are no uniform standards, classifications or codes used. The disparity of fees charged from parish to parish adversely impact this sector. The Government should bring more uniformity and transparency in the determination of fees for the use of venues under the Places of Amusement Act and the cost of advertising paraphernalia erected in public spaces under the Town and Country Planning Act.

The Government should establish two modern, sophisticated Entertainment Parks consisting in the main of enclosed concert halls and theatres for the performing arts, one located at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre and one located on the North Coast, with all the appropriate production infrastructure, including acoustics and technical equipment to stage world class indoor musical events.

The Government should pass new legislation under the Public Broadcasting Act to ensure that all radio stations register with collection agencies, such as JACAP and JAMMS, to enforce Copyright Compliancy as a condition of their licenses to ensure the artiste’s legal right to attribution on the radio. The practice of radio stations keeping libraries and playlists should be mandatory, to eliminate payola practices in all media.

Our touring artistes are, in most instances, the first point of contact with Jamaica. It’s logical, therefore, for us to identify Acts within the fraternity, and give them the official status of ‘Roving Ambassadors’, promoting Jamaica, its heritage and culture.

Read more at http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Dear-Queen-Portia_10471227

Happy New Year

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com