Sections of the Jamaican music industry responded mostly favourable yesterday to news from major corporate sponsors that they would no longer support events involving artistes who continue to incite violence through their lyrics and performances.

“No need to panic,” declared prominent entertainment lawyer Lloyd Stanbury, who contended that “Jamaican music is not built on gay-bashing or promotion of violence”.

“It is the most embarrassing day in my musical life,” said promoter Worrell King from King of Kings Promotions, who felt that things should not have reached this stage.

In a cautious response, the president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians, Desmond Young, would only say: “The Jamaican media should rally around the industry and highlight only the things that will help.”

Six of the biggest sponsors of musical events – Red Stripe, Wray and Nephew, Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited, Courts Jamaica Limited, Digicel Jamaica and Pepsi-Cola Jamaica Limited – Friday issued a joint statement that essentially insisted that artistes and show promoters clean up their act, or do without their money.

“As a group of corporate sponsors of the entertainment industry, we are concerned that the continued use of violent lyrics could ultimately lead to the decline of our music industry, as well as a social and economic backlash,” the six said in the statement.

It said they had decided to formulate a code of conduct for entertainers which would be rigorously enforced as a future guide for their continued support of the industry.

The group did not link their statement to any single event, but the move comes in the wake of an international campaign by the gay community, led by British-based Outrage!, which has targeted a number of prominent Jamaican dancehall acts noted for the so-called ‘homophobic’ content of their lyrics and performances.

In recent times, a number of overseas shows and tours have been cancelled as a result of the ongoing campaign by the gay rights groups, affecting deejays such as Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man.

Responding to the statement, Stanbury, himself a former show promoter, suggested that the move by the corporate sponsors would not be bad for the industry, and argued that the majority of the repertoire of the dancehall artistes being targeted by the gay community consisted of music with lyrics which were not about gay-bashing or the promotion of violence.

Moreover, Stanbury said: “We must acknowledge that corporate sponsors have every right to determine with whom and what they wish to be associated, in the interest of their products and services as well as the communities they serve.” The attorney urged all stakeholders to work together in fashioning the proposed code of conduct.

King, who is also the founder/owner of SANE (Sounds Against Negative Expression) Band, expressed embarrassment that corporate sponsors should find it necessary to issue a statement threatening to dissociate their products from the industry, if certain artistes did not clean up their lyrics and their acts.

“That these corporate sponsors should come out with a statement like this, I find it embarrassing. I hope the artistes involved will now realise how detrimental it can be to the music and the future of the industry when they promote certain types of negative behaviour,” he told the Sunday Observer.

King, the promoter for the long running ‘Western Consciousness’, one of the more popular calendar music festivals, and the yearly Peter Tosh Tribute, recalled how he received death threats when in the late 1980s he decided that his band would not back certain entertainers whose performances were not deemed to be “upfull”.

He suggested that the way forward was for influential stakeholders such as radio jocks to “stop questioning what is slackness”. “We all know what is slackness. Radio DJs must stop playing garbage, for they have ‘big up’ something that has been thrown back in their faces,” he asserted.

Following is the text of the statement issued by the six major sponsors:

“The international success of reggae and more recently dancehall music has been a source of pride for Jamaicans. Recently however, concerns have been raised about the content and tone of some of the music.

As a group of corporate sponsors of the entertainment industry, we are concerned that the continued use of violent lyrics could ultimately lead to the decline of our music industry, as well as a social and economic backlash.

As socially responsible corporate citizens, we want to work with the music industry to secure the future of Jamaican music.

For this reason, we have met and agreed to:

1 Develop a code of conduct for performing acts that will guide our involvement and relationships with the industry going forward. Once defined, this code of conduct will be rigorously enforced.

2 Work with public sector organisations, the music industry and other interest groups to ensure that our music continues to contribute to Jamaica’s positive image, locally and internationally.

3 Discontinue sponsorship of events involving artistes who continue to incite violence through their lyrics and performances.

Our goal is to work together to promote the unity and well-being of our society, and maintain Jamaica’s cultural eminence.”