KESI ASHER, Staff Reporter
Assassin - FILE,
Twin of Twins - IAN ALLEN,
Deejay Kiprich pose with members of TOK at the launch of his debut album, "Outta Road", and after party, held at the Asylum Night Club, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston last year. - WINSTON SILL
JAMAICA'S SINGLES CULTURE has negative and positive repercussions on the music industry, as seen by several artistes, agents and managers.
Assassin, who released an album Infiltration in late 2005, thinks that artistes do singles more than albums, because a single involves less risk.
"An album is a greater undertaking than a single because a producer not going to take a greater risk putting together an album, which is a lot more work. For an album you have to have the market for it, because somebody do a single doesn't mean they going to enjoy that same level of success with an album," said Assassin.
T.O.K, who also did an album in 2005, Unknown Language, has infiltrated the international market and is enjoying their share of success. Flexx, from T.O.K. believes that an album is like an artiste's diary, something that should be produced.
"The music industry down here kinda set up different. I think an artiste can do a lot of singles and then later get an album. I think that if the artiste last for five years and don't have an album it don't mek nuh sense for the artiste. An album is like a diary for each stage of your career. So you always have to have something," said Flexx.
The volume of work produced by Twin of Twins comes compact, and are albums in their own right. Twin of Twins believes that albums are more profitable, for everyone.
"If yuh inna di mood fi do singles, do singles; but if yuh can do a album, do the album, the album more profitable. Album a nuh something yuh just get up and do, it tek great work, but the album also help the music industry fi grow," said Patrick Gaynor, one half of the twins.
Internationally acclaimed dancehall artiste Sean Paul, has three albums, Stage One, Dutty Rock and Trinity, and has enjoyed phenomenal success.
"The United States market runs on albums, not singles. Singles are not sold in America anywhere, singles gives airplay and club rotation, they bring attention to the album. Sean Paul's international success is from his albums, his initial success is from his singles, they made him popular," said Jerome Hamilton, from Headline Entertainment, Sean Paul's agent.
Coming home, Jerome explained that the Jamaican market operates differently. "The Jamaican market is singles driven, we don't purchase albums, unless an artiste is critically acclaimed. We need to develop the album culture, if we want to make it internationally," he said.
Clyde McKenzie, director of Shocking Vibes feels that singles are the order of the day due to the economic complexities involved in making an album. He also believes that Jamaica is traditionally a singles industry.
"We don't produce many albums and the album is usually a collection of singles. Our industry is not driven by the sales of recorded products. This is why most artistes are managed by their producers, because that's the way the producers can recover their cost of production. The singles are designed to create stage work for the artiste," McKenzie said.
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