QUEEN OF STAGE

QUEEN OF STAGE AKA SPICE

November 13, 2009

ARE WE ON THE DOWNLOW?




BY: STARAPPLE


A paradoxical thing in Jamaica is that we are so full of talk of badmanism yet when people come around to abuse us; we mumble, forget it after 7 days and move along. A strange state of affairs given our mouths almighty.

Since the advent of internet access at high speeds and file sharing sites; it seems as though dancehall and reggae record sales have met with doom and gloom. Just look at the measly sales of some of our so called big stars. No names necessary here. You know them.

Just recently, I scanned a few sites and file sharing is a big deal. As riddims are sent out promotionally to deejays, in a few minutes they are up on sites available for download by anyone besides persons in the industry and for sale by persons who do not even have a licensing agreement with the creator of the music: neither the writer nor music composer. As much as we feel that Japan and Europe are the last bastions of real aficionados of our music, they are also the hot spots for illegal downloads and sales. Check the internet if you fail to believe.

When the internet and file sharing gained prominence a number of persons locally were cynical and then they came around thinking it would further the music. Yes, but for who though? Certainly not the musical composers.
.
Alot of persons are not intimate with the process of music making and a lot of persons don’t care. All they get is the finished product and maybe go to a party and hear a good joint, hear it blasting on the radio or get a hot mix tape and bop to it. That it is illegal, they generally don’t care.

Ok so file sharing and illegal downloading might get the music out and make it popular; and might ought to be underscored here. A direct negative result of this is that our artistes have resorted to hustling out the business: overcharging on dub plates, overcharging for shows, collecting and not showing up, charging major dollars to voice a tune; only a few innovative ones like ‘DI TEACHA’ have gone into merchandising and product branding, VYBZ Rum anyone.

We really need to find some resolution to the loss of sales because when dubs are voiced hardly does an artiste return to a producer (who might also be the composer) and give him/her a portion of the dub plate money. Hardly is there an artiste who blows up big time and gets some shows who will return to music composer to say “see ah food ya”; so we really need a way to stem this bleeding of sales by inappropriate persons and the illegal distribution by unscrupulous persons.

We know how to crack any code to anything, certainly we can figure out a way to make it hard to get our music for free. One thing that some producers will do is send out a song ripped below cd quality or turn up some of the instruments such that there is some degree of distortion, but that does not reflect well on a producer. Encoding cds doesn’t even really help except for air play detection overseas. Perhaps a brilliant Jamaican can develop the technology such that if you download a song or songs without paying for it, your computer crashes, your ip address is identified and if previous credit or debit card information of the user has been used on that same computer then deductions are made from them. How long are we going to bled of our creativity? Why do we stay on the downlow while they download?

25 comments:

  1. It's all about who your marketing your music to. If your targeting the streets you're not going to make much money from music sales. Producers and labels aren't making thir music readily available to the public, as easily as you can search and find a song on-line, you should be able to find it on itunes or Amazon, they're not distributing their music efficiently enough and the music is leaking like a leaky faucet. They need to tighten up their business, don't look to blame consumers, cause that won't solve anything.

    Bugging people's computers is called invasion of privacy, don't even know why you would suggest that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The recording industry, whether small like Jamaica or large like the USA, has always been selling something that is basically ethereal: music. Now that there is no physcial media to control and distribute they will die. But music won't... We just have to ride this out...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Problem with the music today (dancehall) only a few you want to listen to for more than 1 week. So why go spend your money?? When i buy a CD it is something that I can play over and over again. These silly people are more likely to make a song with some dance to go with it. And yes, when you go to Weddy weddy etc. the dance create some hype,, but for how long? As soon as a new dance comes out with the "trune" to match it.. then yours is passe.
    The foreign artists are still selling music.. as long as you can listen & understand the sensible lyrics then people will buy it. Remember a time when we had great Jamaican artists? Even today people are buying their music. These new breed of artists are all about material things..Range, X5, six baby madda and bad manners. Someone please tell me that I am wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A friend and I were discussing the problem of making money on dancehall music. My example was the new Jah Cure album. I love his music so till I weak and I make it a point to get his albums but half the time the songs I really want aren't on it. The music comes out at such a rapid pace, every week there's a new riddim with a gazillion different artists on it. Any artist who wants to stay current typically can't wait until he/she has an album to promote to release new music.

    But what's the easiest way for a listener to gain access to these tunes? Bittorrent. If/When cell-phone banking reaches JA hopefully someone with vision (and cash-raising ability) should set up a local version of iTunes where people can purchase the latest tune instantly.

    What we need to do is find ways to exploit the new technology. The biggest record companies in the world went your route by dicking around with Napster and suing everyone in sight instead of working on a solution and now Apple has them by the balls with ownership of the internet outlet and the music player.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your site?
    Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
    But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with
    it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or 2 images.
    Maybe you could space it out better?

    Also visit my web-site :: online backup service
    Feel free to visit my site online backup services

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am now not sure the place you are getting your information, however great topic.
    I needs to spend some time finding out much more or figuring out more.
    Thanks for great information I used to be on the lookout for this info for my mission.


    My web page :: insomniac gamers
    My blog post ; insomnia in pregnancy

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't know whether it's just me or if everyone else encountering
    issues with your blog. It seems like some of the written text within your posts are
    running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as
    well? This could be a issue with my web browser because I've had this happen previously. Appreciate it

    My web page - online backup storage
    Have a look at my homepage ; online backup services

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where
    I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having trouble finding one?

    Thanks a lot!

    My web blog; online backup solutions
    my website :: online backup services

    ReplyDelete
  9. When I initially commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox and
    now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment.
    Is there any way you can remove people from that
    service? Appreciate it!

    Also visit my web blog: online backup
    Here is my blog post ... online backup solutions

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello there, I discovered your website by way of Google at the same time
    as looking for a similar topic, your website got here up, it
    seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.


    Hello there, simply turned into aware of your weblog
    via Google, and found that it's truly informative. I am going to be careful for brussels. I'll appreciate if you
    happen to continue this in future. Many people shall
    be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

    Review my weblog :: online backup service reviews
    my webpage - online backup solution

    ReplyDelete
  11. First off I would like to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question in which I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
    I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your head
    prior to writing. I've had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Cheers!

    My site ... hemorrhoids treatments

    ReplyDelete
  12. I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. Such clever work and coverage!
    Keep up the great works guys I've you guys to my personal blogroll.

    My website; safe diets

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'll immediately seize your rss feed as I can't
    in finding your e-mail subscription link or newsletter
    service. Do you have any? Kindly let me understand so that I may just subscribe.
    Thanks.

    Look into my web blog; airplane simulator game
    my page - online airplane games

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi there are using Wordpress for your site platform?

    I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and set up my own.
    Do you require any coding knowledge to make your own blog?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

    Feel free to visit my page: easy diets that work

    ReplyDelete
  15. Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful post.
    Thank you for supplying this information.



    Here is my weblog; body mass index chart

    ReplyDelete
  16. This excellent website definitely has all of the info I
    needed about this subject and didn't know who to ask.

    Take a look at my web site: diet plan

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi, just wanted to say, I loved this post. It was helpful.
    Keep on posting!

    Also visit my webpage; weight loss calculator

    ReplyDelete
  18. Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your post seem to
    be running off the screen in Safari. I'm not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I'd post to let you know.
    The design and style look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon.
    Cheers

    Stop by my website losing weight fast

    ReplyDelete
  19. I don't even understand how I stopped up right here, but I thought this put up used to be good. I don't know who you are but definitely you are going to
    a well-known blogger when you aren't already. Cheers!

    Take a look at my web blog :: buy acai ultra

    ReplyDelete
  20. My spouse and I stumbled over here different web address and thought I should
    check things out. I like what I see so now i'm following you. Look forward to exploring your web page for a second time.

    Also visit my blog :: crib mattress dimensions vs twin

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks designed for sharing such a good idea,
    post is good, thats why i have read it fully

    Feel free to surf to my web site ... ethan allen bed frames metal

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a material of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious
    knowledge on the topic of unpredicted emotions.


    Look at my blog post: pharmacy technician license

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi there, constantly i used to check web site posts here
    early in the morning, as i enjoy to find out more and more.



    Also visit my homepage; mama roo swing

    ReplyDelete
  24. Obtain Bedtime Tales Full Dvd - Obtainable for Free With
    authorization?

    My weblog Optoma HD33 best price []

    ReplyDelete
  25. Selecting the most appropriate Home Concert Seating : Curved
    Or perhaps Straight

    my weblog - Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 3010

    ReplyDelete