By Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

Left: TOK - Winston Sill   Right: Bounty Killer, along with Elephant Man and Beenie Man is one of the few artistes who do not need a current hit to pull a crowd locally. - File

A hit is a hit in any language, right? Wrong.

In Jamaica, there is a select group of artistes who can pack a venue whether they have a current hit song or not.

There are others, who even with hits, still do not have much crowd pulling power. This is because the 'hit' is in the wrong place.

Artistes who, for example, release albums overseas before breaking in the local crowd are at a particular disadvantage where this is concerned. Because, regardless of having major sales abroad, particularly in Japan, there is no guarantee that fans will respond to the music locally.

"If you carry ganja to Japan and sell it, it will sell off. That does not mean it is the best, but it is available," Marc Johnson, celebrity publicist and entertainment consultant said.

"Being able to draw the mass means the entertainer must be a good performer with good choreography and energy that will raise the power of ten tigers," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, entertainers such as Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Elephant Man will always have favourable crowd response, because they fit the criteria of local stage mavens.

Michael Lunan, local promoter and artiste manager agrees with Johnson. "A number one release in Japan means nothing to promoters if the artiste does not have much going for him locally. It's all about getting heavy rotation on the radio, along with the personality that people love," Lunan said. And for local artistes, the stage is where the money is made.

International flavour

Lunan explained that the days are long gone when music lovers would crank up their juke boxes or their turntables to play music. Instead Cds and MP3s run the cut. As a result, music sales are no longer clear indications of how successful an artiste is in Jamaica because sales have dipped as a result of the ability to burn and duplicate CDs.

However, record sales are important for artistes who are based in the overseas market. Lunan pointed out that Sean Paul, Shaggy and Junior Gong, the artistes who represent on the international scene would headline local shows such as Reggae Sunplash and Sumfest because they have the international flavour. That is why it is more important for those entertainers to have good performance on the charts overseas.

"Wi love Sean Paul, but in all fairness, he cannot pull a crowd like Beenie or Bounty can," Lunan said.

"I don't believe seh a man like Mavado a benefit much from sales but him hot right now. That is what is getting him on shows."

A group like T.O.K. know how to work a crowd both in Jamaica and overseas. Their last album, Unknown Language, was first released in the United States. "That is where most of our sales come from. We try to cut down on people burning our CDs by releasing in territories that most will buy it," group member, Flexx, aka, XX, said.

But he concedes that this does not mean that demand for T.O.K. will be greater on the home circuit. As a matter of fact, XX said his group charges less to perform in Jamaica. But in the end, does well in sales and radio rotation.

Regardless of how well Jamaican music will continue to do across borders, the artiste must possess the ability to interest the masses if they are to sustain local impact.