From as early as the days of Christopher Columbus, Jamaica was dubbed the ‘pearl of the Caribbean’. During the 18^th century, this tiny dot on the globe pioneered the system of capitalist production by supplying the world‘s population with sugar. More recently, Jamaican exports have consisted of the spread of talent taking the form of black liberationists, athletes, freedom fighters, and above all, Reggae Music. Bob Marley and prominent reggae stars hit the global music audience in the 70’s and today, Jamaica still continues to produce great musicians and athletes such as the World’s fastest man, Asafa Powell. For decades the country has been treading the waters of economic adversities and it had lacked the proper resources needed to share the island’s unique blend of culture, musical talents and skills. Now with the Digital Revolution and Globalization, Jamaica has all that and more. Although Internet access in the island is still unavailable to three quarters of the population, people now have more of an opportunity to broadcast their talents through online social/music networking sites like Myspace(IICD). Myspace is transforming the Jamaican music industry by creating an alternative to conventional expensive and out of reach marketers, producers and consumers. This vast ability to infiltrate markets outside of the island, while having full control over one’s exposé is what I consider to be the ReggaEvolution.

Jamaica has suffered in many ways from the long lasting shackles of colonialism and slavery. A stark division between the rich and the poor characterizes the island; similar to what existed a hundred years ago between the light-skinned landowners and the dark serfs. In Kingston, the wealthy comfortably reside in mansions up in the hills overlooking the city and the rest of the population face adverse conditions of poverty below. While the very rich are able to send their children to private schools abroad, drive the latest SUVs and live a secure life, vast majorities of the rural and urban population are in fear of crime and have inadequate access to food, clean water, health care and education (Nations Encyclopedia). These are the major factors that keep  Jamaica a third world country with the highest crime rate per capita in the world. The inequality among classes existing in the country today, is no different from how it was in the 1930’s when Reggae had just started.  It was the unification of Rastafari followers -a strong and conscious Black Power movement- that gave way to what we now know as Reggae. Their strict devotion to African tradition and insistence on justice were the first forms of chanting ever heard in the music’s history. Today the message contained in the lyrics is still the most valued aspect of Reggae music.

Jamaica is overwhelmed with an abundance of artists rising daily as well as a boundless amount of talented aspiring artists. In a country like Jamaica where poverty characterizes the peoples and injustice continues to surge, the entertainment and music business are seen as an enticing, and sometimes the only ticket out of suffering. Jamaica is seen as a hub for Reggae, however the majority of Jamaica’s talented voices are not being heard outside of the country. For such a musically interlaced nation, it’s hard to believe the Jamaican economy is short of an established recording industry. Entrepreneurship and capital is limited and there remain little resources, which are essential to creating and sustaining the success of rising stars who have been increasingly emerging out of the ghettos.

One reason for this lack of organization and investment can be linked to the fact that the Jamaican music industry is fairly young. The very first recording studio started in the early fifties in the backyard of a man named Stanley Motta, in downtown Kingston (Cowan, Tyler). Today there is very limited training available in music. About three university level institutions offer courses in songwriting techniques and arrangements but hardly any on the technicalities of recording and engineering. Other than world famous Bob Marley, Reggae has received little recognition and the domestic industry has been ostracized from the development of the Jamaican economy. “ Reggae’s roots in poor, local communities, associated with a lower class of Jamaicans has up to date not been accepted by mainstream Jamaican society”( Kozul-Wright, Zeljka). The industry has not seen any investment on the part of governmental institution nor private corporations. This again is due to the segregation of the talent and poor people, from investment funding and the rich. This short interview with one of Jamaica’s leading Dancehall Reggae artists Vybz Kartel, gives a clear picture of what the industry lacks and needs.

Fortunately however, the government and educational institutions have just recently begun on a path towards implementing high-level music production courses and workshops at schools around the island. They have realized that if Jamaica plans on surviving in the new global market, a solid music industry next to that of tourism will be imperative (UNCTD).

The Jamaican style of music production and distribution is not like that of mainstream North American and European ones.  There is normally a single ‘riddim’ track over which many different artists voice their own individual vocal track. Quite frequently a single track is released as soon as there’s a new ‘riddim’. Dissimilar to an artist creating an entire album needing to be produced, marketed and managed, a single is instead released, either to be played on radio stations or illegally distributed to networks of listeners who help spread the track around.  Recording artists’ income doesn’t primarily come from record sales, mainly because the Jamaican demographic is not one able to offer much support in terms of album purchases. The main sources of income for artists are when they perform at stage shows, held frequently, and by revenue gained through foreign consumption. “Adequate tracking of sales of Jamaica-based products internationally is not available. However in the UK alone, seven percent of all albums sold are either performed or written by Jamaican composers“ (Kozul-Wright, Zeljka). Due to our world’s trajectory towards a unified global economy, Jamaican artists can do nothing but gain. This is why the Digital Revolution is so binding. With the instantaneity of the World Wide Web, we are able to connect and communicate with our fellow earthlings from all corners of the world. This is bringing great change to the lives of Jamaican artists as new major consumers in Germany, France and Japan gain access to Jamaican uploaded mp3 purchases and online album purchases. Investment and consumption from these foreign supporters contribute tremendously to the growth of the industry and so e-commerce and social networking sites become imperative in facilitating this process.

The Digital Revolution and the emergence of the Internet have opened up doors that were previously shut. Social networking sites now exist in a large number of societies around the globe. This Internet based interaction is very helpful to users as it allows people to remain in contact with distant friends as well as meet new people with common interests. Internet usage has rapidly expanded and increased. No longer is the Internet being used by a limited number of scientists, researchers and white middle-class males; rather, it has broken down cultural barriers giving every one a chance to access and benefit from such a vital new human resource. All these social networking sites such as Facebook, Xanga, Hi5 etc. have increased communication. But when Myspace hit the scene, it brought with it a series of extra dimensions. Myspace is one of the worldÕs leading social networking sites originally created for new bands to advertise their music on a global network. Myspace offers a wide range of resources like personal profiles, blogs, groups, videos and music that many other social networking sites do not. So in a sense, Myspace can be seen as much more than just a social networking site but actually an international media service dedicated to the exchange of music, ideas and information. The site attracts  230000 new users daily and as of August of 2006 there has been over 100 million created accounts since Myspace’s inception in 1998(Wikipedia- Myspace Music). This cyberspace has revolutionized the way people communicate and the ways in which music is being conveyed, produced, circulated and listened to around the world. In addition to the Internet, innovations such as the ipod have drastically increased music consumption around the world. The ipod’s mobility and massive storage capacity allows for an expansion of music in all senses. Not only do more people buy and listen to music, but also music diversification among regular listeners has definitely taken place- meaning more people are listening to more music of different sorts, increasing the demand for music universally (Jenkins, Henry).

Broadcasting websites such as Myspace are vital in the Jamaican music business and allows for originality. The artist has full control over his or her image and delivery. Myspace also allows users to have links to their videos on YouTube. Many artists use this telecommunication and broadcasting site to stream videos of studio recording sessions, live performances, interviews and other such footage. Through these postings and uploads people from all around the world have a chance to research and learn more about these artists and their talents very quickly online. These create opportunities as new foreign investment occurs, creating livelihoods for artists that might have otherwise not been heard of.

 A prime example of such an opportunity happened to be unfolding while I was writing this paper. It’s the story of one of my child-hood friends Fire Tea and how Myspace has made his dream a reality. Fire Tea grew up in the outskirts of Kingston City, Jamaica, in a low- income community by the sea called Bull Bay. The only jobs available in Bull Bay are fishing, construction, and mining of natural limestone near by, none of which Fire Tea would have wanted to build a career in. Out of a population of less than two thousand people, Bull Bay is regarded as one of the hot spots for violence and crime in Jamaica. Fire Tea’s journey was very common in Bull Bay in the sense that he lived with his old grand parents while his parents tried to make ends meet in the city, and so from the start, his life was not very easy. Fire Tea became friends with his neighbor Billy Mystic- a famous reggae artist- and his family of Jamaican surf pioneers –The Wilmots. The Wilmot family consisted of talented musicians and to some extent has been regarded as a ‘well-off’ and respected family in Fire Tea’s small neighborhood. The Wilmots, unlike neighboring families, run a surf camp and so have access to the Internet and a wide network of surfers/musicians interested in staying with an authentic Jamaican family. Ever since Fire Tea was a young boy, he was known around the neighborhood to be a DJ/rapper.  Whenever there was a ‘big dance’ in the neighborhood, Fire Tea would make sure to find his way over there and convince the selectors to give him a little time on the microphone. Like any other story, Fire Tea, would go up and rock the stage but that’s about as far as his talent had been realized. No one knew Fire Tea outside of Bull Bay. However just recently, 9 years later, Fire Tea is living out his dream.

Like so many other countries around the world, Reggae has penetrated the Venezuelan music scene.  OneChot, one of Venezuela’s leading reggae artists learned of Billy Mystic and his family through Myspace, and like so many other artists came to Bull Bay to establish connections. It was over this time that he met Fire Tea, and was blown away by his talent, which in Jamaica was not being given its due recognition. It took no time for Fire Tea and OneChot to arrange a trip over to Venezuela, for Fire Tea to be featured on his 1^st Venezuelan tour scheduled for a couple weeks after OneChot’s return to Venezuela. Fire Tea was able to record a song on OneChot’s new album and gain massive experience and exposure outside of Jamaica. Now Fire Tea, with the help of the Wilmots and OneChot has a Myspace page with a massive Venezuelan and Latin American fan base. Fire Tea, like many other Jamaican artists had no experience with computers, but such factors have not prevented him from living out his life’s dream. This goes to show that Myspace can open up doors for artists that they would not have been able to access otherwise. Even though Fire Tea is still seen as an aspiring talent amongst Jamaicans, in Venezuela, he is the new Jamaican sensation. You can visit his page at http://www.myspace.com/firetea

Unsigned musicians have plenty of opportunity on Myspace, as seen in the case of Fire Tea. The site allows musicians to upload mp3 files, broadcast videos, and essentially make a profit by selling music online (Wikipedia- Myspace Music).  Myspace’s music portal is part of the site devoted to new music production and detailed information on tour dates. Myspace Music, another section of the site allows users to browse artist pages by entering a specific location or genre in the search bar. The system gives a list of artists as well as other artists that they think, “you may like” listening to as well. This broadens the opportunity for the younger artists who have not received much previous profile visits to gain exposure.

There was recent talk that Myspace had been looking into establishing agreements with leading record labels in creating an online music service –Myspace Records (Smith, Ethan). This new service would allow users to download free music and videos from the site. Part of the reason for such a venture would be to raise competition against the dominating Apple Itunes service that governs the music sales transactions on Myspace. As of April 2008, Record labels Vivendi SA’ (Universal Music Group), Warner Music Group Corp. and Sony BMG Music Entertainment have started a partnership with the giant social networking site. This joint partnership will add new free streaming and digital downloading as well as more options to purchase merchandise such as concert tickets, clothes, and cell-phone accessories (Vascellaro, Jessica). There are already 5 million artists who have Myspace pages and 108 million fans that visit them.  According to Myspace, there are a lot of non-listeners out there who can, with the right advertisement, be converted to listeners. "It will be the de facto home page for every artist in the world," Mr. DeWolfe, the chief executive of Myspace said in an interview regarding the new venture. Originally the only service committed to downloading music for ipods was Itunes, now this monopoly will change, and downloading to ipods will be possible through these new business agreements. Such a powerful alliance between these leading Record labels and Myspace will allow artists to present themselves individually while benefiting from the resources that these companies offer.

Recently I interviewed a young Jamaican rap/reggae artist SoulX, and he shared with me some of his impressions on Myspace and its role in the development of his career. Unlike in the case of Fire Tea where Internet access was limited, artists such as SoulX have access and understand how to use the Internet as a resource in shaping his/her unique career. SoulX stated, “As an artiste without representation, in terms of management and promotion, my career is perfect. With Myspace you control your career and it’s up to you what kind of exposure you get and how much. Knowing where the music industry is coming from, where it was technically impossible for an unsigned artiste to get his music to people around the globe, with Myspace it’s just at the click of a button: it ’s revolutionary”.  When I asked the question of “How would you imagine yourself as an artiste now, if you had taken the traditional route of getting a record deal?” he responded, “Traditional Route? Well I would love to get a record deal but as of right now that is secondary due to the fact that I am working on my own company and Myspace is going to help me market myself and my company.“ When I asked SoulX about the new partnership, he was very well aware and already making progress. He said that he was trying to climb the charts by pushing his page (increasing amount of profile visits) so that he could increase his plays in hope that labels would start looking at his page.  SoulX like many other young Jamaican artists has realized and seized the opportunities that Myspace now allows. You can check out his page at: http://www.myspace.com/xluos

“ Jamaican music product has suffered from inadequate marketing largely because of prohibitive costs and lack of indigenous exporting skills” (Kozul-Wright, Zeljka).  New bonds and innovations like Myspace open- doors for the artists in Jamaica who could not afford to get their music out there any other way. With over one hundred million users worldwide, Myspace offers electronic commerce that penetrates all markets and economies regardless of language or other previous trade barriers. Music, the universal language, is experiencing a leap into the future as transaction costs of doing business drops and exposure to a wider audience demographic is possible. The Internet has become a marketing tool and has allowed artists such as SoulX and Fire Tea to get an ideal start out on their music careers.

 

List of Works Cited

 

 

Andrews, Amanda. April 28 2008.

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Cowan, Tyler “Caribbean Music and Cultural Exchange” June 6 2001.

 

 

Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture. NY: New York UP, 2006. 15-19.

Smith, Ethan http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120347734816179147.html

 

 

“Introducing Jamaica” International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) May 12 2007.  HYPERLINK "http://www.iicd.org/countries/jamaica" http://www.iicd.org/countries/jamaica May 2 2008.

 

“Myspace Records on the Come Up”. Universal Productions February 2 2008 ( HYPERLINK "http://universoulproductions.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/myspace-records-on-the-come-up/" http://universoulproductions.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/myspace-records-on-the-come-up/

“Myspace Music” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace. April 21, 2008.

 

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Jamaica-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html

 

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD) “Electronic Commerce and Music Business Development in Jamaica.” April 16, 2008.

 

 

Vascellaro,Jessica May 1 2008. HYPERLINK "http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120723678802486609.html?mod=sphere_ts&mod=sphere_wd" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120723678802486609.html?mod=sphere_ts&mod=sphere_wd

 

 

Wright, Kozul- Zeljka. "Becoming a Globally Competitive Player the Case of the Music Industry in Jamaica." (2001). 23 Apr. 2008.