KINGSTON, Jamaica — Leading American entertainment publication, Billboard Magazine, has featured Downsound Entertainment boss, Josef Bogdanovich, and his role as one of the most prominent advocates, of Jamaican music both locally and internationally.  

Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries.

It publishes articles on news, video, opinion, reviews, events and style. It is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and Billboard Reggae Chart, tracking the most popular singles and albums in various genres.

The article, released on May 8, chronicles Bogdanovich’s professional life in the music business, going all the way back to his founding of one of the largest concert promotion companies of the 1970s, Los Angeles-based Pacific Presentations.

However, the real highlight of the article was his visionary stewardship of Reggae Sumfest.

By 2016, when he acquired Sumfest, it had suffered scale backs due to low investment and festival management, and could no longer afford the famous international acts to which patrons had become accustomed.

However, in only two years, Bogdanovich has successfully changed the festival’s structure, to feature primarily Jamaican talent and transformed the once struggling Sumfest into the most anticipated musical event in the region.

Despite his praiseworthy leadership of Reggae Sumfest, in the Billboard article Bogdanovich humbly credits his love of the Jamaica and its music as his primary motivation.

I want to highlight reggae and dancehall, to bring more business to Jamaica because it’s a great, blessed island. And I am doing everything I can to support it,” he said.

The full article can be found at: www.billboard.com/articles/business/8455072/starkist-heir-reggae-sumfest-owner-josef-boganovich-profile

Billboard highlights Joe Bogdanovich’s links with Jamaican music

Balford Henry