“To divide and rule could only tear us apart; in every man’s chest, there beats a heart. So soon we’ll find out who is the real revolutionaries; and I don’t want my people to be tricked by mercenaries…..We’ll have to fight, (we gonna fight), fighting for our rights”

(Zimbabwe – Bob Marley)

And we have been putting up a concerted effort to get our views across to the Jamaican government, the European Commission and the other sectors of the Jamaican society. In the last year, the industry has focused on issues such as:- trading agreements with the European Union; the need for an Entertainment Encouragement Act; the formal establishment of entertainment zones; exemption periods under the Noise Abatement Act; the need to examine whether the local Parish Councils/KSAC are not the competent authorities who should be issuing licences under the Noise Abatement Act, as it is done in other jurisdictions such as Florida and Canada, so as to avoid an inherent conflict of interest as is now the case when it is issued by the police; the need for more transparency and uniformity in the determination of fees under the Town and Country and Places of Amusement Acts.

The problem we face in making our representations, however, is that there is a public perception that we in the industry have no genuine social conscience, no regard for law and order, no intention to pay our due taxes, no respect for ethics, standards or morals.

In May 2005, I wrote a commentary titled ‘Self-Regulate Or Perish’ and in summary said, “it is high time that we become pro-active and begin some sort of self-regulation, accept a modus operandi and enforce standards of the industry, rather than always being forced to resort to reactionary measures — applying band-aids and covering up in pretence that nothing has happened or is wrong — whenever external forces like corporate Jamaica or Outrage! apply pressure for the necessary changes.”

We have to stop burying our collective heads in the proverbial sand. While the industry continues to be plummeted by crisis after crisis, we appear incapable of developing internal regulations and guidelines to govern our affairs.

For instance, rather than waiting on the minimum ten days notice as allowed by law, and recognising the time required to plan, organise and promote events, our producers and promoters must submit the appropriate applications to the Jamaica Constabulary Force under the Noise Abatement Act, as soon as they have determined, dates, venues and other particulars for their functions. By so doing, we will put the onus on the police to respond to us in a more timely manner. If that does not occur, then we would be well within our rights to lay the blame squarely at the door of the police for not treating with our applications in a professional manner.

Secondly, on this same issue, and in light of well known recent developments, it is fair to say that public sentiment is no longer in our favour as it regards the ending times for events — especially on Sundays and weekdays. Needless to say, we have no one but ourselves to blame, for flouting the present law so shamelessly and for so long. If we are to be taken seriously, we will have to develop and implement a sustained campaign led by our artistes, musicians and promoters to encourage our audiences to come out earlier, so that our events can start and end on time. There is of course, a flipside to this coin that we are all well aware of, many of those who go out and party every night, don’t have a job and don’t need one. This brings into the discussion the close links between the entertainment industry and the criminal elements within our society. It is time to break the umbilical cord and distance ourselves from these elements who are driving our society down the slippery slope to anarchy.

Thirdly, it has come to my attention that the European parliament, in response to their powerful gay lobby, is currently discussing the withholding of working visas from all Jamaican artistes, irrespective of genre. This temporary ban, would spell the death knell of our music industry as we well know. As we well know in this age of downloads and online file sharing, the sales of cds have decreased significantly. Artistes are therefore heavily reliant on earnings from tours, performing live to European audiences. If this income stream is lost, it will be very difficult to regain a foothold because Europe’s domestic Reggae artistes have emerged to be major players and will quickly fill the void.

Another issue that demands our attention and on which we have vacillated so far, is the essential need to rate and label our songs and events for content — both Vybz Kartel and Natural Black sang in their respective songs recently, “just like in the movies”. This is not censorship, but rather advertising that will appeal to targeted audiences, be it general, adult or X-rated. “Every man got a right to decide his own destiny”. (Bob Marley)

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com