Jamaica's unsung heroes - JamaicaObserver.com

Saturday, November 07, 2009 2:46 PM

Business

Jamaica's unsung heroes

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Here's a riddle for you: what natural resource does Jamaica possess in such abundance that it practically oozes from the ground? Not only is it plentiful, it renews itself from one generation to the next. One last clue: its does not get depleted when used. In fact, it becomes more abundant. If you haven't guessed yet, I am referring to music. Think of global icons like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, or modern day mega stars like Sean Paul and Shaggy. Whether it's reggae or dancehall, Jamaica's world-class recording artists are too numerous to list.

Kenneth Hynes

Behind this all-star line-up of talent is a lesser known but equally impressive list of music producers, individuals like Cleveland 'Clevie' Brown, Sly and Robbie, and Wycliffe Johnson. Great local artists working with great local producers should be a winning partnership for Jamaica. However, the numbers suggest a different reality. Consider the fact that most of the profits from what is arguably Jamaica's most unique and abundant resource flow to foreigners. A 2005 Stanford Business School study estimates that worldwide sales of reggae recordings in the late 1990s amounted to US$1.2 billion per year. But only 25 per cent of those revenues flowed to Jamaican musicians, producers and songwriters. US$300 million is an impressive number, but it also implies that a whopping 75 per cent of the industry is foreign-owned.

Contrast this lack of ownership with Hollywood studios that write, produce, distribute, promote, and profit from their films. Similarly, there would be riots in Nashville if London or Tokyo came to dominate country music. Unfortunately, the majority of top-selling Jamaican artists are signed to foreign recording labels, and almost all of the major decision-makers in the industry are located outside of Jamaica.

The good news is that thanks to a growing number of local entrepreneurs in the music industry the situation is beginning to change. For example, take the story of Lynford 'Fatta' Marshall, one of Jamaica's elite producers. He's worked with the likes of Beenie Man and Lady Saw and has had the opportunity to work with a number of international labels like Polydor and Universal. Fatta's story holds an important lesson for the recording industry in Jamaica.

In 2003, after a successful career producing music with domestic and foreign labels, Fatta partnered with fellow Jamaican Colin 'Bulby' York
to launch the Jamaican production firm Fat Eyes Productions. Fatta wanted to build something that would allow him to give back to the industry that had been so good to him. Fatta had the right musical skills and the right intentions, but he quickly learned an important lesson: artistic talent is no guarantee of commercial success.

Look behind any commercially successful musical artist and you'll find a team of professional producers, managers, and promoters working hard to bring the artist to the market. "We lacked both marketing and legal skills and that led to all sorts of problems," commented Fatta with a chuckle, "Colin and I quickly realised we were producers and not businessmen". Fat Eyes Productions encountered so many start-up problems that Fatta was forced to put the firm on hold for a few years. "I don't want to dwell on past mistakes.
Let's just say we learned a lot about how not to run a business."

The truth is that Fatta is far more of a businessman than he takes credit for. He did what all good business leaders do when faced with adversity, he learned from his missteps and surrounded himself with a strong management team with the business skills necessary to succeed. These business skills include the ability to identify the right distribution channels, to partner with the right labels and promoters, and an ability to protect the firm's intellectual property rights. Jamaica's recording artists are world class. They deserve nothing less than world class management.

Fatta has embraced this approach. Not only is he producing a very promising young artist, Koolshades, he's re-launched Fat Eyes Productions with a brand new state of the art studio. He has also brought on six young engineers to bolster his technical team.

Although Fatta has always had a good ear for musical talent, the biggest difference between now and three years ago is that he's also developed a better eye for managerial talent. He now feels that he has the right legal and promotional expertise in place to make Fat Eyes Productions a success.

Fat Eyes Productions is just one of a growing number of Jamaican companies, like Anchor Studios and GeeJam Recordings, that are successfully converting Jamaica's musical talent into commercial success. Their production skills are sought out by artists around the world, many of which now come to Jamaica to record.
But what about those people who say that a focus on commercial success comes at the expenses of artistic integrity? "That's a false trade-off," says Fatta, "The market wants authenticity!" The real issue here is ownership rather than authenticity.

Ultimately, Jamaica has a choice to make: it can provide a never ending supply of raw talent for others to reap the commercial rewards from, or it can make it its mission to bring reggae and dancehall to the world, which will require both world class artistic talent and business skills. Fatta has made his choice.

Kenneth Hynes is a managing director at ontheFRONTIER. He can be reached at ideas@otfgroup.com

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