WORDS:           Christopher “Icey Jace” Campbell                                             DATE: July 24, 2007

                        Freelance Writer

Ø      As an aspiring entrepreneur in the multibillion dollar a year global music industry a few days ago I decided to evaluate our own local industry based on Talent, Professionalism and Vision as these characteristics I believe are essential to our growth as a united hub looking to converge on international markets. Not surprisingly the results were a shame to even acknowledge much less write about. Not entirely statistical but facts are just that “Fax’s” and the truth cannot be blundered. I was utterly disappointed in the main industry associations, companies and sponsors right across the board. Having set a solid foundation in some areas from the early to late 90’s suddenly at the turn of the century the supporting beams of that foundation collapsed and left the music in disarray. The main cause was the ”me myself and I” syndrome. Quiet frankly it just seems as though we’ve all coexisted over the last few years with no form of general direction for our beloved music.

Ø      Vision defined by the oxford dictionary as foresight, insight & understanding is surely not present in our industry, you mad... Too often 365 days a year (366 in a leap year) we see artists and their management teams take the same mechanical approach to success which is arguably non existent. They “hustle a one tune” in the studio’s then “beg a forward” from selectors and radio DJ’s then “get a one buss” and for the rest of their careers put out seemingly average singles on vaguely successful albums and do stage shows after stage shows to stay afloat. There is no dynamics, no map, no blueprint, just a “hammer and a chisel”. In a recent article entitled Inside the music biz posted June 9, 2006 in the daily observer Entertainment consultant Teddy Laidley highlighted that an artist must be considered a product and in order to be successful he/she must have an ultimate career goal listed in a written business plan so as to help the artist stay motivated and focused. This is obviously lacking with our contingent of aspirants. It seems everyone is quiet comfortable with local credits. Very few seek to earn their bread n butter elsewhere apart from yard. Yard vibe sweet eh….

Ø      Professionalism derived from the adjective professional is defined as being experienced, knowledgeable, proficient & qualified. This in turn speaks to standards, quality and effectiveness which are for the most part absent. It always seems as though they short change themselves when they fail to accurately plan each and every step. Some artists never seem to posses the total package while their management teams never seem to go the whole nine yards as it relates to promotion and marketing. It also seems as if contracts make many artists nervous. Many are all for collecting off record labels but are terrified when they see a document that requires proper interpretation and that all important signature. To go a step further many management teams are not aware of the techniques needed to draft proposals, reports and contracts that often times “dem jus go link a man, weh know a man, weh know di big man”. This is unacceptable, it seem many business decisions are made on hype and not facts or results, probably the reason why only a handful of artist is allowed international passage every 2 – 3 years. Note This attitude is detrimental to the 3^rd degree, mainstream organizations rarely respond to unprofessional business conduct. They don’t even accept unsolicited demo records, you have to funnel it threw a producer, agent, shopper, manager or A&R rep to get some ears.

Ø      Talent defined as the ability, brilliance, flair or gift to perform is in contrast to the previous two characteristics excessively bubbling over. More importantly though is the fact that our talent is not confined to one or two specific genre like reggae or dancehall, it is widely varied. Now this might surprise several persons but believe it or not there are rappers locally that could give those seen on BET a run for their money literally, but like the other areas our local industry has failed us in upholding the view that there is no space for foreign syllables in our creative thoughts. Being a rapper in Jamaica is so tabooed that many of them deny any involvement with the art form when asked. This is as a result of our content, not wanting to leave our comfort zone and break the boundaries and categories of music. Just think if 5 years ago we had came across this 123 blueprint to growth how much U.S dollars would have been converted. I am in no way saying we should disown our cultural genre but god forbids we encourage and develop a profitable & marketable hybrid genre and make money. Damn.., whether or not it is our own. So many genres today took from reggae and became successful because is was mixed, fused, development and soon evolved into Hip Hop, Pop, Rock & Reggaeton. It’s our time to evolve; it’s been our time for a decade now so I cry shame on all who have let us down, all who have kept our industry seemingly stagnant for some years. Much to our ignorance “World Music” is upon us “I even got the World Charts to prove it” and whether or not we view it as a new genre it has fused genres of all liking and is far more feasible a market, the entire globe don’t you think ? $ 000,000.00

Ø      Consider this –

   If we decided to change our course and adapt to the current global climate by having a Vision, being professional in perusing that vision and using our talent as  our “backAtive” we would see a greater increase in revenue, cause in the end “Big Man Ting” its all about the benjamin’s. Anyone who disputes this fact canstart working for free like me, I don’t get paid to inspire you people but I do it  anyway.

           Please direct all suggestions and feedback to jamiceyjace@yahoo.com 

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