Reggae: Bleak Future?

[Historian]

I realize that this is a report on sales only in North America, and so does not include the market in Great Britain, on continental Europe, or in Japan. Nevertheless, this cannot be good news.... Never expected the recession to hit the music so badly.... Over to you, TDowl, Shatta Cleve and Assasin....

Soundscan figures for reggae albums dismal

By Steven Jackson Observer writer
Sunday, November 15, 2009

Data show that the sales for reggae albums are so weak that conscious reggae group Morgan Heritage and dancehall producer turned singer Serani were able to chart on Billboard, despite first week sales of 300 and 1,120 units respectively.

Based on sourced data from Nielson Soundscan, Serani's No Games and Heritage's Journey Thus Far charted at number three and eight respectively on Billboard's Reggae Albums Top 10. Sales usually plummet after the first week which suggests that both albums will not likely sell 10,000 copies, but they are not alone.


Morgan Heritage

No 2009 reggae album has sold over 70,000 copies and most have sold under five figures, according to Soundscan statistics for the week ending November 1. Soundscan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Top sellers were Sean Paul's Imperial Blaze (Atlantic Records), Matisyahu's Light (Epic Records) and Reggae Gold (VP Records) which sold some 69,700, 56,700 and 40,000 respectively in North America. Other big-name artistes haven't sold 5,000 US copies, which supports Jeremy Harding's argument that Sean Paul, whom he manages, sold well in a recession.

Paul's worldwide sales however are over 250,000 copies. A globally successful album has sales in the region of half-a-million copies, but other popular artistes have not even sold 10,000 copies:

. Buju Banton's Rasta Got Soul (Gargamel Records) which received publicity from the gay lobby sold 8,000 copies after 28 weeks;

. Ziggy Marley's Family Time (Tuff Gong) sold 35,738 after 27 weeks;

. Marley & the Wailers' B is for Bob (Island Records) sold 35,006 copies after 19 weeks;

. Mavado's Mr Brooks ...A Better Tomorrow (VP) sold 14,405 after 36 weeks;

. Julian Marley's Awake (VP) sold 8,600 copies after 29 weeks;

. Jah Cure's Universal Cure (SOBF) sold 5,193 after 29 weeks;

. Tarrus Riley's Contagious (VP) sold 4,585 after 13 weeks;

. Busy Signal's Loaded (VP) sold 3,393 copies; and

. Sizzla's Ghetto Youth-ology (CP) sold 3,195 after 27 weeks; and

. Queen Ifrica's Montego Bay (VP) sold 2,726 copies after
21 weeks;

Some overseas-based groups have sold slightly better with the Aggrolities' IV (HLCT) selling 7,172 after 22 weeks, Mishka's Above the Bones selling 14,091, Easy Star All-Stars' Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub selling 21,711 after 29 weeks on chart.

Despite the fallout, the biggest winner is VP which had 18 titles in the top 50 Reggae Albums chart. Sean Paul and Matisyahu have dominated the top of the Billboard reggae album charts since they released albums in August. Both artistes are not selling well in US but are aided by international sales.

Matisyahu and Sean Paul's first week sales, however were multiples more than top-selling reggae/dancehall releases this year. Easy Star All Stars scanned 4,500 units in its first week in May which allowed it to top the Billboard Reggae Albums charts, whilst hitting #117 on Billboard's Top 200.
Sean Paul was the first of three dancehall/hip-hop mega artistes to release albums this fall. Matisyahu followed with Light, while Sean Kingston has delayed his original August release date. Previous albums by Sean Paul and Kingston have sold over 1,000,000 copies, while Matisyahu has sold over 500,000.

Sean Paul hit #1 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums for his 2002 and 2005 releases Dutty Rock and Trinity, respectively. The Trinity was his best charting album, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200.

Matisyahu hit #1 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums for his 2006, 2007 and 2008 releases Youth, No Place To Be and Shattered, respectively.

Youth was his best charting album, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200. Sean Kingston hit #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for his self-titled release. It also peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200.

[Assasin]

Not the first Historian.

Reggae will re-invent itself again.

Most producers I know are scrambling with other things as it is a bad time for music in general.

[Historian]

It Won't Be Easy!

Not the first Historian.

Reggae will re-invent itself again.

Most producers I know are scrambling with other things as it is a bad time for music in general.

The following extract is aken from the news report below:
Copeland Forbes, tour organiser, promoter, consultant and artiste manager, acknowledged that the Internet and piracy are causing a decline in the sale of Jamaican music CDs. However, he said there are other causes, such as the lack of a worldwide record distributor and insufficient marketing for Jamaican music.

But Forbes has another problem.

"The material that we are putting out is that which suits us and not the international market. The lyrics are too colloquial," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "Our artistes need to make the music more understandable, so that the international market can relate to it."

Nonetheless, Forbes believes Jamaican music is vibrant and has the potential to grow. However, he said more managers, producers and writers are needed in the business. And there is a very important, intangible factor. "We don't feel the love in the music. It is just hostile. Most of the music is disposable. We need to put out better music, so we can stand side-to-side with the rest of the world," Forbes said.

My Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean.../ent/ent1.html

J'can CD sales fall worldwide - Downloads, piracy blamed for decline
published: Sunday | October 12, 2008

Sadeke Brooks, Gleaner Writer


Bootleg CDs like those above, which were among pirated material seized during a sting operation by the Flying Squad in May 2007, have been blamed for some of the downturn in sales. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

The sales of Jamaican music CDs worldwide are declining, with Internet access and piracy major contributing factors.
With the great increase in Internet access, the sale of actual CDs has been declining significantly. In addition, with the easy access to pirated music (bootlegs), fewer people are buying CDs and vinyl.

Bobby Clarke, CEO of Irie Jam Media, said "I am very sure the music sales are going down. Record stores in New York are closing down, CD sales are ridiculously low and reggae as a genre is down 50 per cent. With the advent of Itunes and bootleg, it is hard for someone to go into a store and buy a CD."

Economic downturn


Bobby Clarke of Irie Jam Media points out that Super Power Records in New York has closed down. - Contributed

Clarke also noted that Super Power Records in New York, a supplier of Caribbean music, closed as a result of the economic downturn in the United States and the decline in CD sales.

Yolan Zanders, marketing manager for VP Records Jamaica, said several factors contribute to the decline in Jamaican music CD sales, such as the recession in the United States and easy access to downloaded music.

However, she does not believe Jamaica is the only country feeling this musical pinch.

"It (music sales) has been decreasing. It's not just reggae music alone," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Sales declining globally
Globally, CD sales do seem to be declining. In the recnt article 'CD sales falling faster than digital music sales rise' in the International Herald Tribune, it was reported that CD sales have fallen to their lowest level in 10 years, while digital distribution and piracy were increasing.

It read: "Global music sales dropped 8 per cent to US$19.4 billion in 2007, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Revenue came in at its slowest pace since at least 1997, the first year for which the body issued figures. Physical sales of CDs and DVDs fell 13 per cent to US$15.9 billion. Sales of downloaded songs and mobile-phone ringtones rose 34 per cent to US$2.9 billion."

Zanders said she has spoken to persons in Europe who believe that dancehall music is fading there and this might account for the decrease in sales. However, she believes dancehall has the ability to bounce back from its current downturn.

"Sometimes dancehall dies and then it gets back. That's the trend that I've seen in our music. I don't think it's something that is dead or will ever be dead," said Zanders.

Major problem
Reggae artiste Da'Ville said his music is doing well around the world, especially in Japan, where he will release his album called Itchiban. However, he believes piracy is the major cause for the decrease in the sale of Jamaican music.

"The bootleg a di number one thing weh a mash up the music. When you do an album you invest a lot," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "So when people bootleg is like dem a tek a thing out of yuh pocket. Sales are decreasing significantly and everytime a man bootleg, is one less record sold."
Internet and piracy



Copeland Forbes says that much of the Jamaican music being produced now is not geared towards the international market. - Contributed


Copeland Forbes, tour organiser, promoter, consultant and artiste manager, acknowledged that the Internet and piracy are causing a decline in the sale of Jamaican music CDs. However, he said there are other causes, such as the lack of a worldwide record distributor and insufficient marketing for Jamaican music.
He said there is a craving for Jamaican music in the Southern Hemisphere (including Australia and New Zealand) and some Middle Eastern and Asian countries. However, he said, there are few distributors in these areas. In some of these countries, Forbes said, the people only have access to music from Bob Marley, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Lucky Dube, coming directly from Europe.

'Not making money'
"Artistes are not making money from record sales. They are making money from live performances," said Forbes, who has been in the music industry for 47 years. "Music is not selling in America. Europe is a more vibrant market for our music."

But Forbes has another problem.

"The material that we are putting out is that which suits us and not the international market. The lyrics are too colloquial," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "Our artistes need to make the music more understandable, so that the international market can relate to it. If they can't relate to it they are not going to buy it."

Nonetheless, Forbes believes Jamaican music is vibrant and has the potential to grow. However, he said more managers, producers and writers are needed in the business. And there is a very important, intangible factor.
"We don't feel the love in the music. It is just hostile. Most of the music is disposable. We need to put out better music, so we can stand side-to-side with the rest of the world," Forbes said.

[Islandman]

I don't know how much I buy the "internet and piracy a mash up the music" argument. Generally internet piracy is a two-edged sword, it may affect sales in the short term but as a marketing tool there is nothing like it. What you lose in record sales you should make up in other ways like tours, etc.

So the internet and piracy can't kill the music itself, but the reggae music INDUSTRY will have to deal with this new reality. As a matter of fact for a non-mainstream form of music like reggae the internet should be embraced.

[Assasin]

Yeah. The piracy is really bad and it is also been done by the big companies as well. How intersting is it that Sony is the biggest music distributor and one of the biggest seller of blank cds, cd writers and now downloaded music players.

Many producers take a break. They will not spend 5,000 on a project so the new artist feels it. I spoke to one of the biggest engineer/producer out of NY recently and he told me it makes no sense putting money in any project now as nothing nah gwaan. It is survival time now.

To make matters worst VP bought out Greensleves the second biggest distributor of reggae and the third largest in England closed. There is not many other avenues for distribution except VP. As with the case with Sean Paul, Iwayne and others there music hit the streets and then VP sign them and push it but it has gotten harder.

Now if you are an established artist there is always tours because the artist make more from touring than recording. The big drawback is the drugsman promoter has driven many legitimate promoter and now with the feds unto the illegal activities there are a lot less shows and that is compounded by the recession. There is Europe for the traditional reggae singers and there is dubplates and special which is a money earner.

In general it is a bad time for music but it just take one hit and people start turning back to reggae. Shaggy bought renew interest, so too did Sean Paul, who is next?

[Hortical]

The recession sure has had an impact, but it can not be solely blamed for the poor sales. There are a couple of traditional issues at play here. Soundscan often does not account for reggae sold at small record shops, so the numbers do not tell the complete picture. Many of the producers recycle too many riddims, and in essence the albums lack originality and you will hear similar riddims from album to album. The albums tend to be a collection of singles that have already hit the streets, and hence the "new" albums lack that fresh vibe.

You can purchase individual songs from Itunes, especially if the album is not worth purchasing, and artists have been earning funds from online sales. Internet piracy has had a major impact on the music, and all you need is the appropriate aoftware, and you can download all those albums for free in a matter of minutes.

Other factors include limited commercial radio airplay, except in select cities, and most of those albums are poorly marketed by VP. Creativity is lacking as well, and producers need to put more effort to make their music more appealing.

[Mosiah]

Shaggy bought renew interest, so too did Sean Paul, who is next?

debatable whether either of these guys does reggae.

[Assasin]

True but the after effect of their hit songs is tremendous for Reggae. Because of their hit others get regular rotation on bigger radio stations.

Once there is a hit song then people start looking and hopefully buying.

[Jangle]

True, but their music are still marketed as Reggae. The control of our music is dwindling right before our eyes because we have lazy producers, writers, and entertainers in the industry. Everybody is looking for a quick hit. They all lack creativity in their topics. Since the gays started hurting our earnings, the artistes turned to dance styles and money as their main topics to sing about. The idea of a genuine reggae song not becoming a major hit in mainstream USA is a myth. Jazmine Sullivan, the American R&B songstress, first hit, I need you bad, was a straight, undiluted reggae song which went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Good music is good music which will transcend all boundaries. Our players need to step up their game and stop making excuses.

[Gamma]

the more interesting reggae and even the sounds most true to the art form seems more and more to be coming from OUTSIDE of jamaica.

the conscious regae of fidel nadal and cafre (from argentina) is one such example. from time to time x posts articles or music from places like norway, mexico and the uk which shows this.

how many jamaican artists tour as ska musicians? no doubt started out as a ska band, so too did general public....?

our music has "evolved" i suppose but even so we should not discard what came before....there is a huge market for it and it is being filled by others.

[Baddaz]

omg... just finished a discussion with some breds bout reggae music... the problem with the music i think is the quality of the lyrics, lack of melodies and the voices of the 'singers'...

good songs have melodies... further, if the artists and producers require support from the international market, at the very least the international market shold be able to relate to the subject matter of the songs...

too many people who cant sing are making records... it appears the wormen may lead the change... the women songs seem to make more sense and have more appeal...

the gully / gaza tunes are killing the scene even among many youths... it is still the 80s and 90s tunes that are 'bussing' dances...