[InspiredFunk]

One of the biggest issues is the associated marketing - the reason the R&B and other music forms do so well is the merchandising potential seen by the record company.

Just look at traditional "pop" award ceremonies, where product placement is done by designers sending the latest bling (from diamond encrusted mobile phones to $7000 facepacks) - and this shit sells product...

Roots is not used as much by marketing companies in the UK (outside of advertising Caribbean holidays in the UK) - most marketing is based on the concept of someone who is struggling who suddenly makes it ... and the more extreme the success (from street rapper to gold encrusted pop-sell out), the better for the newspapers, product placement and the scandal loving media...

And yet, when I am out playing nights in clubs the reception from the crowd to a few Studio 1 old skool dubs and tracks is incredible - so much so, that one of the nights I used to do, originally a Soul night, became predominantly reggae and ska over time as each week I would extend the amount I would drop within a set. Part of the problem in the club scene is everyone expects almost every song to be an Anthem of some kind - so to squeeze in a "new" music form can be difficult - but, let me assure you, slow and steady wins the race.

Conversely, I also work with a few Selectors who go the other way - One in particular, running a Dub night, but playing the deepest, darkest, latest found rareities - Great for people who know and love Dub music, but for 50/60% of the people in the bar, it is a unknown, with no familiarity to them, and they are without the "listening" experience to interpret the music.

He has now begun to slip a few commercially well known roots/dub tracks, particularly at the start of the night - including Bob, something which he said he would not play because everyone has "Legend" - and the difference is amazing - more people stay, more people come and ask questions, and the commercial/well known stuff allows people to "get into" the feel before he drops rareities...

Enabling Roots to break back though is about creating a demand within people to hear it ... that responsibility sits with the DJs, with us listening to music with our friends and our enemies .... with us to bug radio stations with requests - I hear many people complaining about the lack of reggae in all its forms on commercial radio stations - but how many of us actually pick up the phone, or send an email requesting it...


Whoa - sorry about that - one big one in the morning, and next thing I am on my soap box...... Time for some juice...

Peace!

[InspiredFunk]

Originally Posted by Meef Chaloin

but then id rather good music was underground rather than being sung by idoits

Yeah - the downside of increased commercial exposure is Paris Hilton recording a song loosely in your style...

[blaminack]

My son says that Reggae was calling her name so she had to... skank, skank, skank, skank....

[el bib]

well said again bill.ive djed many years in different styles and i know what youre talking about.had many conversations with other djs about the crowd thing.im playing a big gig in spain and bassically im going to play all roots/dub underground stuff from here and the old site.taking a chance ,as the spanish crowd aint too clued up on the underground scene.but my attitude these days is if the crowd like it great ,if they dont fuck em.no compromize.i know that generally people like to hear tunes they recognise.but me and my mates are different,when we go to a reggae dance we like to hear fresh tunes we havent heard .ive got a mate who does the reggae classics thing,allright once,but he constantly plays the same set all the time,and to us hardcore reggae listeners hes too boring and play safe.gets the gigs though.lol.you know ,how are people going to hear the new tunes if the djs are churning out the same stuff all the time.

[steve steppa]

I was gwan start my own thread, but when I saw this thread title, I knew this was a good place to share this excerpt...
(This is BUNNY LEE talkin)

When dub started it wasn't really "dub". Tubbys and myself was at Duke Reid's studio one evening, and a sound-system operator by the name of 'Ruddy' from Spanish Town was cutting some riddims, with vocal. And the engineer made a mistake and him was going to stop and Ruddy said, "No man, mek it run !" And then the pure riddim run because him didn't put in the voice. Ruddy said, "Now tek another cut with the voice." And then, him take the cut with the voice.
Ruddy was playing the next Saturday and I happened
to be in the dance. And they play this tune, they play the riddim and the dance get so excited that them start to sing the lyrics over the riddim part and them have to play it for about half an hour to an hour ! The Monday morning when I come back into town I say, "Tubbs, boy, that little mistake we made, the people them love it !" So Tubby say, "All right, we'll try it." We try it with some Slim Smith riddim like 'Aint too proud to beg.' And Tubbys start it with the voice and then bring in the riddim. Then him play the singing, and then him play the complete riddim without voice. We start a call the thing "version".

This is from Page 52 of the book DUB: Soundscapes & Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae by Michael Veal.
I must find more time to read through this great book ! Every chapter brings new knowledge and insight.