HIP-HOP AND R&B RECORD LABELS EXPLOITING REGGAE/DANCEHALL RESOURCES
After only one year in existence the first ever reggae/dancehall record pool has seen its membership grown from only a few disc jockeys to well over 400, all in a matter of months.
The record pool which was started as a way to add some structure to the reggae industry initially only dealt with reggae DJs, producers and record labels. The idea at its inception was to receive new music from the many producers and labels in Jamaica, and in turn distribute these songs to reggae DJs working the club scene or on a radio program in North America and or Europe.
Prior to the formation of the reggae/dancehall record pool many reggae radio show host outside the Caribbean had a legitimate complaint that they were not getting their hands on most of the new releases coming out of Jamaica. This obviously also affected the producers in Jamaica as they felt that instead of their music being properly promoted through normal music mediums, it would be lost in the sea of releases that comes from the island every month.
When the record pool got started it was met with a lot of reluctance and skeptics, the very people it was put in place to help. Many producers were hesitant to submit their music as they were not sure if it would actually be given to DJs while others just refused to pay any money whatsoever for promoting their music no matter how credible the source. There was very little hesitation however, from the DJs, most of who were active radio disc jockeys which meant that they could join the pool for free. Non-radio DJs were asked to pay a one year membership fee of $75.
Fast forward to a few months later and the entire picture looks different. After initially being reluctant to take advantage of the services of a record pool, a lot of well established Jamaican producers are now on board, sending in their new releases the minute they leave the studio. The pool director is now getting close to 100 new releases from Jamaican producers every month.
It is interesting to note that hip-hop and R&B producers and record labels have also been submitting their new releases to the reggae/dancehall record pool. The surprising thing is the rate at which they are doing it. Over the last couple of months the record pool has received three times as many new releases from hip-hop and R&B producers as from reggae producers.
With the new attention the pool is getting from the hip-hop community and the knowledge that a lot of DJs (especially club DJs) play more than one genre of music, the pool director has amended the reggae/dancehall record pool. It now accepts and promotes hip-hop, R&B, reggae, dancehall and calypso releases.
With the Djs now getting a host of new music from several different genres, changes had to also be made to the pricing structure. Radio DJs who once enjoyed free releases are now asked to pay a one year membership fee of $20 while non-radio DJs are asked to pay a one year membership fee of $50. There is no cost to submit new music for distribution through the pool. So far there haven’t been a lot of complaints from the DJs but only time will tell.
The record pool remains committed to reggae/dancehall in a special way as no other pool offers this genre in the quantity that they do.
For more information on the reggae/dancehall record pool please visit www.myspace.com/1stinternationalreggaedancehallrecordpool |
