NUMBERS DON'T LIE?
Some say Dancehall is in a crisis as music from the genre is not selling. While many deejay fans applaud their success on the Internet, many music business executives are perplexed by the dismal sales of Jamaican reggae and dancehall performers when compared to overseas bands. Since the 1990s, dancehall music has had its ups and downs. Despite numerous more successes by various artists, Shabba's twin Grammy Award victories and Shaggy's diamond-selling single are undoubtedly the most prominent of those 'highs.' Low music sales continue to prevent many Jamaican musicians from reaching the top of the coveted Billboard Reggae Albums list and the Billboard Hot 100, as they did in the 1990s. The perplexing problem of Jamaicans refusing to purchase digital music from their favorite Dancehall and Reggae musicians is still being debated. One of the most crucial problems is that many Jamaicans are either unbanked or do not have access to credit cards or prepaid debit cards for online shopping, which is the preferred method for obtaining digital music. According to the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) 2015 data, CD sales decreased by 32.5 percent in 2015, while vinyl sales increased by 52.1 percent. The RIAA also stated that vinyl sales produced more money for the music business than YouTube, ad-supported Spotify, and VEVO combined in the first half of 2015. Reggae and Dancehall musicians have been relying solely on record companies however the labels cannot provide what the artists cannot. Furthermore, marginal musicians in the genre will not have the widespread appeal required for record firms to invest.
Speaking on Onstage with host Winford Williams, he stated that the main reason Dancehall music nowadays fails to chart and have low sales is that they aren't written with the required tried-and-tested formula for songwriting, which had been mastered by many of their predecessors, and some of their contemporaries.
“We are not making any songs. And whoever waan vex wid mi vex wid mi, wi nah mek nuh song,” Staff told Williams. “Dis is why wi last big song a Koffee. Dis is why – and mi know seh Spice a guh cuss mi. Spice I love yuh; I love what you’re doing, but it really is strange that VP spent so much money to get you on Jimmy Kimmel; Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, and all these nice promotion things, with three a the top acts outta Jamaica, Sean, Shaggy and the new girl on the block – the new queen and you weren’t able to break the Billboard charts? Official Billboard charts?” Click here to see full interview
Q/A
1. How can Dancehall artists make more money in the music business?
2. Do Dancehall artists need record deals?
I think Dancehall music is somewhat our learnt experiences in this country. So lots of singers will sing about either poverty and the hardships of underprivileged people or scamming as a means to defeat poverty and get out of the ‘ghetto’. Maybe singers could try writing songs that can speak to the experiences of people overseas as well.
ReplyDeleteArtists don’t need deals anymore. The power of social media has done enough to push good music.
ReplyDelete