Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Michael Bennett, managing director and founder of Grafton Studios, addressing members of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Job-Creation Awards breakfast meeting, at the Terra Nova Hotel, St Andrew, August 26.

With music record sales falling worldwide, Michael 'Mikey' Bennett, managing director of Grafton Studios, says that the future of the local industry rests not on the sale of CDs, but on selling the individual as a performer.

"CD sales are down and we will soon be giving away CDs," said Bennett, a featured speaker at last week's Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Job-Creation Awards breakfast meeting.

"The whole performance side of the thing is what people need to learn."

Changes in the industry

Bennett believes that as the dynamics of the industry change, dancehall and reggae artistes will derive more income from performing on stage than on retail sales.

Whereas a performer with the right stage presence might not sell as many as 2,000 CDs, he or she "can still bring 20,000 people to a show", Bennett said.

Last year, using general consumption taxes paid to assess the performance of the industry, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) estimated that the entertainment sector saw a nominal improvement in business, but said in real terms, there was a decline in eight of the nine categories monitored by the agency.

Biggest loser

The biggest loser was 'record production', down 52.3 per cent.

At the same time, PIOJ data on entertainment services indicate that more amusement licences and permits are granted each year for shows and cultural events.

In 2005, the number was 6,364 across the 13 local-government zones - the majority, 1,136 in Kingston - while in 2006, there were 7,709 events, of which 2,036 were held in the capital.

Only eight councils were tracked in 2007, but permits for those eight rose from 4,021 to 4,210 year on year.

Major shift

The development signals a major shift from what has become the norm since the phonograph rose in popularity in the early 1900s.

For at least 60 years, an entire industry has risen out of the recording and packaging of music for mass distribution, spurning major recording businesses.

The Internet has changed that.

Now, the consumers of music simply download their favourite music to devices that allow them to afford and store collections of songs in even greater numbers than before, without having to contend with securing physical storage space.

First came Napster, which distributed music, illegally then legitimately, following fights with big business.

Later came iTunes and the iPod - a new generation was born.

In the Jamaican context, the main issue is piracy. According to local recording artiste Ce'Cile, the illegal distribution of artistes' work on the streets has robbed them of income.

But, the "major market base" does not see piracy as a problem, she said, and that is a problem for the artiste.

"It's a really really huge issue," Ce'Cile said.

Bennett, she says, is right when he stresses image and performance.

Fire up fans

Most artistes, she says, now make their money off their stage appearances.

Bennett says for artistes to make it in Jamaica, they have to be taught how to fire up their fans. Their managers, he said, have to coach them on delivering good, live acts, instead of concentrating on being just a studio band.

"Not everybody is a Ninja Man, but they can learn to be," he said.

"There are many trainers in Jamaica, like voice trainers."

Managers of musical talent must start thinking like the managers of boxers, who go after top dollar for appearances in the ring.

richard.deane@gleanerjm.com