KINGSTON, Jamaica — Since the introduction of BBM Channels at the end of last year, popular singers are increasingly mobilising their fans using this communications channel.

Grammy award winner Sean Paul (best Reggae album 2004) and Billboard buster Gyptian (Hold You reached Gold status in 2010) from Jamaica already have gathered more than 100,000 direct

contacts combined in a few weeks so far, and growing daily.

Next to promoting their new albums, the artists can inform about their latest video productions, concerts, fan events and more.

Even the famous record label of both artistes — VP Records/Greensleeves Music, the largest independent reggae label in the world — jumped on the bandwagon with their own BlackBerry BBM Channel linking to news around dancehall music, their line-up of musicians and BlackBerry news as well.

Subscribing to BBM Channels is free and easy to do for their supporters by downloading the latest version of BBM from the respective store to the BlackBerry smartphone, Android or iOS device. From there you can either add your favourite BBM Channels by knowing their specific PIN or use the search function in the menu to find what you like by name.

BBM Channels is a forum for active, real conversations between people, brands and communities.

Channel owners can post messages, share pictures, spark discussions, post animated GIFs and chat directly with subscribers. Integrated live chat allows channel owners to offer, “scheduled chat hours” where BBM users can directly engage with their favourite channels one on one.