J 7 amin § \ = | a 11] Thursday, March 2, 1995 THE MIAMI TIMES SB Record companies find special niche in music industry with reggae By HOWARD CAMPBELL Caribbean News Agency KINGSTON, Jamaica — To say these are exciting times for reggae music is probably an understatement. Since Achieving Grammy status in 1988, much has been done to transform the Jamaican music industry from a hustler’s paradise to a sophisticated business venture. ' Reggae music is now accepted by a greater audience worldwide. Many are hooked on dancehall, others are researching the roots of the music. And it's not just Jamai- cans who are reaping the rewards from Reggae’s spreading populari- ty. Promoters abroad are making millions annually, many as inde- - pendent distributors. These are the best of times for small companies who make it their business to ship reggae to fans in the most remote parts of the world. Many of these distributors, cash- ing in after years of playing second fiddle to the more established markets of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues, are now feed- ing trees to the bigger companies. Ras Record, Heartbeat, VP Records, Shanackie, Hightone are just some of the bigger companies prepared to sign numerous Jamai- can acts. Ras Record, based in Washing- ton, is probably the best known and, arguably, the most successful of these companies. Founded by Gary, Himmefarb, an ex-disc jockey who goes by the pseudonym “Dr. Dread,†Ras reportedly rakes in $5 million sell- ing mostly cultural reggae, distri- buting to major record labels like Warner Brothers, Polygram and Virgin. According to 40-year-old Him- melfarb, who started the company 14 years ago, Ras, like its counter- parts, came of age when reggae went mainstream. “When we began distributing reggae, it reached mostly a White college audience but things have taken off considerably with the wave of success the dancehall sound has had. It has benefited Ras because we're riding on that wave,†he said. Ras leans towards the Marley line of reggae. The company’s first release was in 1980, with Peter Broggs's “Rastafari Liveth†and it have stood by the roots tradition by promoting the music of former Marley proteges Black Uhuru, Inner Circle and Freddie ‘McGregor. The company’s bias towards the roots medium can be seen in its commitment to acts that have been left out in the cold. For example, Himmefarb points to the case of Israel Vibrations, a band that would have to look as far back as 1979 for their last Jamaican hit, “All Got To Sing The Same Song.†“They've got a huge following,†says Himmefarb. “A lot of people don't know that. We got the same reaction when people heard we were handling Inner Circle; they all thought that group was done for.†Ras released the first batch of Inner Circle's groundbreaking “Bad Boys" album which won it the Grammy awards this year. “Sweatâ€, one of the record's hit singles, was already on its way to being a big seller when Ras nego- tiated with Atlantic to promote “Bad Boys†on a wider scale. Like Ras, VP Records of New York and Boston-based Heartbeat Records have seen a remarkable upturn in sales, though both cater to differing markets. Jamaican-owned VP Records’ catalog is dominated by dancehall material. Established in 1981 by the husband-and-wife team of Vin- cent and Pat Chin, it success in marketing the modern technobeat has caught on in predominantly Black areas such as Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami and New York — their most lucrative markets. According to VP's label manager David Sanguinetti, things are starting to open in a big way with a more diverse crowd being turned on to reggae. “Ten years ago, the only one peo- ple associated with reggae was Bob (Marley) but, in the last five years, the music has gone mainstream and really gotten big,†Sanguinetti said. The ability of VP artists such as Barbadian-born deejay Rayvon to cross over into the heavy-selling hip-hop market has been an added bonus. His “No Guns, No Murder,†says Sanguinetti, is “big on mainstream radio†with Bounti Killa, Capleton and Buju Banton, commanding the “underground†market. Compilation releases are also popular. According to Sanguinetti, VP's latest various artists effort, “Strickly The Best,†has been “sell- ing like mad.†The company shipped 15,000 copies of that disc alone in Decem- ber to established retail outlets such as Tower Records and Stawberry’s. Heartbeat specializes in the Rocksteady sounds of the sixties and the “cultural vibe" of the seventies. NORTH’S BEST FOODS 12955 NW 7th Ave Phone: 681-0246 Formerly North’s Best Meat We moved across the street Open: Mon thru Sat 8 AM to 8 RY | Sun 8 AM to 4 [WY We cash payroll checks Turkey Baby Pork Spare Ribs. am so ve vs $39.95 Chicken Legs rts......... 40 tbs box $15.95 Wing, Neck, Drumstick............ sts $3.00 Chicken Wings............. 40 tbs box $30.95 ao bs) $3.99 Pork Chitterling Chicken Legs QrfS.......co....10 1s $449 Coupon Good 03/02/95 — 03/08/95 BREAKFAST SERVED 24 HRS. Every Item On The Menu Like his VP counterpart, Heart- beat's Garrett Vandermolen says his company owes its growing reputation to the growing demand in the United States for various forms of reggae. “The demand has. grown con- siderably. We've definitely made headway in the last two years by signing bigger names. Heartbeat is still not a major label, but we are definitely a major Reggae label,†he said. Like Ras, Heartbeat's catalog is a diverse one. It has control of the extensive Studio One (Rocksteady) catalog and counts roots rockers like Burning Spear, Bob Marley and Black Uhuru as its leading sellers. Heartbeat's biggest coup came last year, with the re-release of Dawn Penn's “No, No, No†single, which was first recorded at Studio One in the late sixties. Featured on a showcase record two years ago, “No, No, No†gained prominence on reggae radio in the state before being snapped up by Big Beat Records, an affiliate of Atlantic Records. The success of the independents has benefited the smaller Jamai- can distributors that provide those companies with material not readi- ly accessible overseas. Ras or Heartbeat then expands on that product, shipping either on com- pact disc, cassette or, to a smaller extent, vinyl to various parts of the world. Sudanese say thanks for gift Broward Community College donated medical supplies to the State of Juba in Sudan as part of its Black History Month celebrations. Mirghani Salih, First Secretary in the Embassy of the Sudan, attended the ceremony to thank Dr. Carl Crawford, provost of the South Campus in Pembroke Pines, and others who helped him secure donations of books, teaching aids and other supplies for the Univer- sity of Juba. Crawford said after his a to the Sudan he was presented with a list of supplies needed by the universi- ty. After returning to BCC last April, he gave the list to the com- munity and appealed for goods. “Several areas of the community donated teaching aids to the uni- versity and many people helped us with the shipping,†he said. “They've been experiencing civil war for a long time and that takes a lot out of a people.†AIR Ei) OLCDC Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation CALL US FOR ALL YOUR HOUSING NEEDS ALGERINE LATSON Housing Specialist 490 Opa-Locka Blvd. - Suite 20 Opa-Locka, Florida 33054-2305 (305) 687-3545 As lucrative as this all sounds, there are always the snags of the music business. The biggest hitch, as far as reggae music is con- cerned, is the functioning of the copyyright system which Jamai- can performers say has proved a nightmare for them in the past. Vandermolen, while conceding that the matter of royalties is a “knotty issue,†claims that Heart- beat has dealt with legal affairs ina forthright manner. “As a growing label, we are more equipped to deal with such mat- ters†he says. “Heartbeat are not into this business to make a quick buck.†Dr. Dread, who was introduced toreggae through the movie “Hard- er They Come†and by Marley's “Catch A Fire†album, echoes Van- dermolen’s statement. “Some companies are definitely init for the glamorbut I think most independent distributors have become more professional,†he stated. “All I can say for Ras is that we are deeply committed to reggae.†FREE DINNER EVERY EVENING ! (FOR ALL BINGO PLAYERS ONLY!) FRIED CHICKEN DINNER - BAR. B.0. RIBS - FRIED FISH. BINGO U.5. A. NOW OPEN 7 10: 00 A.M. FRIDAY & SATURDAY (FREE BREAKFAST AT 3015 N.W. 79th ST. MIAMI, FL. ACROSS FROM METRORAIL STATION #18 TEL (305) 693-0023 DAYS A WEEK 10 11:00 P. IA, 10:00 A.M. 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