Against Scammers & Demons

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

Right off the bat, let me declare that we at the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) are totally opposed to the illegal practice of scamming as well as the worship of demons. Furthermore we do not support the promotion through songs of any antisocial behaviour inimical to the best interest of the Jamaican populace. Unfortunately though, as I have repeatedly pointed out in my columns over the years, the dancehall fraternity practices the principles of buzz marketing to promote their products. This essentially requires an outrageous or deviant catch phrase or hook line that will instantly grab the attention of the media and propel debate and discussions which then drive the popularity of the particular song in reference. It’s a tried and tested strategy which has worked effectively most of the time.

So here we are again with two current dancehall songs {Tommy Lee's "Uncle Demon" and Vybz Kartel ft Gaza Slim "Reparation"} grabbing the attention of the media, outraging civil society and earning the wrath of the Minister of National Security, Honourable Peter Bunting and opposition spokesman, Christopher Tufton. They are both calling for new laws to impose sanctions on artistes who sing about illegal and/or antisocial activities and behaviour. I am for freedom of speech and therefore am totally opposed to any form of censorship. This is not the approach that should be taken. What is required is the pending amendments to the broadcast commission act be brought to parliament expeditiously, speedily debated and enacted into law. This would make payola illegal in Jamaica and consequently open up the airways to a broader range of music. So much excellent music is being produced in Jamaica which is not being aired on radio because of this dastardly practice. It would broaden the remit of the act to include sound systems as a mode of public broadcasting and provide sanctions for any media concern which plays these antisocial songs on their systems or networks.

In my view though, this could be a case of smoke and mirrors, a distraction from the lethargy in our political class and government to pass laws and take decisive measures to stamp out this crime that has so injured this country’s reputation and international business relations. To quote Member of Parliament for Central St. James, Lloyd B. Smith “the government (of which he’s a part) has not been effectively responding to the lottery scam phenomena which has its roots in the western parish.” In his Gleaner interview, he also says that Montego Bay has “always had a sub culture of operating outside the law” and quoting the Gleaner he argued that not enough was being done to counter criminal activities such as scamming. Lloyd B. Smith makes a profound point in saying that “In Montego Bay rarely does one find anybody against scamming”. This creates fertile ground for the Vybz Kartel’s lyrics which says “big up every scamma/Weh mek US Dolla/Build up di house fi yuh mama”.

This whole affair also forces me to ask the security authorities, how is it that they continue to allow Vybz Kartel to record and release songs from behind bars? There must be some collusion with prison authorities. Donkey seh “dis werl nuh lebble”.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Against-scammers-and-demons_13017662

Wanted: Good Songwriters

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

I am elated about the feedback I have been receiving on my last two commentaries. This is in regards to conversations they have generated with senior, knowledgeable music industry professionals.

In summary, three structural weaknesses have been identified in order for Jamaican reggae music to re-position itself at the apex of the industry. These are: the lack of good songs with which a world audience can identify; weak professional artiste management; and finally, modes and channels for international marketing.

In an interview with Balford Henry, published in the Sunday Observer on October 28, 2012, Aaron Talbert, VP Records' vice-president for sales and marketing, was quoted as saying: "It takes much more now to make the whole fan base know what's going on. Even for that audience that is committed to the music and the culture, there's a lack of a channel to reach all those people at the same time."

I feel strongly that in order for us to compete with international marketing companies and other mainstream musical genres, Jamaica needs to establish a marketing aggregator for its creative products. This is an idea that Junior Lincoln has long-touted. It would require a public/private sector partnership which would register subsidiaries in all the major commercial capitals of the world, especially where reggae/Jamaican cultural products already has a latent market. The main objective of the entity would be to pool the products of our creative/cultural sectors for the purpose of promoting and marketing, using the very popular Jamaica brand.

In the area of professional management, our artistes have to reform the approach of hiring uninformed family and close friends to manage their international careers. There is no doubt that undisciplined  personal behavior and unethical business practices have significantly hurt our reputation with the media, promoters, venue operators across Europe, North America and Asia. Often times this is due to the inability of the artistes' manager to effectively manage the affairs of his/her protégé.


It is the common belief amongst all my correspondents however, that what Jamaican Reggae needs at the moment are good songs in the mold of Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Bob Andy and, of course, Bob Marley.

Just recently, we got a clear indication of the enormous impact that Bob Marley's music had on none other than US President Barack Obama. Obama stated the following to MTV's Sway Calloway: "I can remember when I was in college listening and not agreeing with his whole philosophy, necessarily, but raising my awareness about how people outside of our country were thinking about the struggles for jobs and dignity and freedom."

Our songwriters today seem disconnected from the major global issues that arrest people's attentions. Human Rights, global warming and environmental abuse, the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza and The West Bank, the apparently insatiable greed of the international capitalists and their drive to accumulate wealth at the expense of working people and the developing countries, the growing disparity between the declining wages of the working class relative to the exploding and irrational incomes of management and increasing company profit, are all burning issues which deserve to be written about.

E-mail: che.campbell@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Wanted---good-songwriters_12899930#ixzz2BN5O6AO3