‘Global Reggae’ launched in UK
LONDON (JIS) — Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Aloun Ndombet-Assamba has implored musicians, singers, and all those involved in reggae music in Jamaica to take the business aspect of the industry seriously.
Speaking at the recent London launch of the book ‘Global Reggae,’ edited by University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor, Dr Carolyn Cooper, the High Commissioner said she is concerned that the business of reggae music is being taken seriously all over the world, but not in Jamaica, as the book clearly shows.
“My concern is that Jamaicans need to find a way to make money out of reggae. We need to make sure that for music that is created in Jamaica, by Jamaicans that everything is copyrighted and that it is operated as a business. Our musicians, our artistes, the people who develop the reggae, really ought to be the ones making money out of the reggae. That is not always so. I hope our performers, and our producers, will stop behaving as if they’re just doing a ‘ting’,” she stated.
‘Global Reggae’ is published by UWI Press and features the plenary sessions from the inaugural Global Reggae Conference in 2008. Contributors to the text include Erna Brodber, Peter Ashbourne, Roger Steffens, Clive Walker and Dr Cooper.
Ndombet-Assamba said that the book shows us that reggae is not just “a little ting”.
Meanwhile Dr Cooper, in a question and answer session outlined the journey to ‘Global Reggae’, which started with a lecture at the Jamaica Conference Centre, the development of the Reggae Studies Unit and the Global Reggae Conference. She said that when the event was first suggested many believed a very substantial conference was not feasible.
The 14 lectures, which comprise the book, were given during the conference by keynote speakers from all over the world, who were invited to share how Jamaican reggae has been appropriated and adapted in a variety of cultural contexts across the globe.