Spin D Music - Entertainment News

Jamaican Artistes Want to ban Red Stripe Kingston, Jamaica: April 29th 2008
Source: jamaicastar.com

In a bold move of their own, some deejays are placing a ban on Red Stripe, which earlier this month announced they would no longer sponsor live music events facilitating "violent and antisocial lyrics". In justifying their actions, artistes say one good turn deserves another, and their ban whether personal or otherwise, is simply an equal reaction.

One such artiste, Mavado, held nothing back telling The STAR, "If dem ban we, we jus' ban dem back bredren! Simple.

"I feel like if dem a pull out from we, we suppose to pull out from dem. Dat mean sey we weh a go dancehall an' a go party, we no fe drink no Red Stripe den. An nutten whe dem mek. Simple."

Similarly, female deejay Spice says a ban on Red Stripe would only be a fair response.

"I don't think dancehall should have nothing to do with Red Stripe either. If they should withdraw from dancehall, I think dancehall should withdraw from them and call it quits," she told The STAR.

On April 4, Red Stripe issued a statement saying its main sponsorship beneficiaries, the annual Reggae Summerfest and Sting stage shows, will no longer have its support.

"Over the years, however, a very negative trend of glorifying violence has crept into some of the music, causing much consternation among well-thinking Jamaicans and others at home and abroad. This has far-reaching and damaging implications for the industry and for the country as a whole," the release stated.

In arguing that dancehall is responsible for the popularity of Red Stripe, Mavado continued, "When yu have Sumfes' an Sting, an all a dese tings, people no come fi see Red Stripe. A Mavado an' Killer an artis' dem people come fe see. A we mek dis produc' so big y'nuh ... none a dem products no sell nowhere else like how it sell a Jamaica."

Disapproval

Recently, during a performance at Word Soun's at Liberty Hall, King Street, Kingston, poet and broadcaster Mutabaruka also showed his disapproval of Red Stripe's recent decision.

"We realise is not really violence dem agains', is homophobia," Mutabaruka said. "Because violence was in de music long time ... Is true de gay guys pull out dem a pull out too. We sey dem is very hypocritical."

When contacted, Red Stripe's head of corporate relations, Maxine Whittingham-Osborne, told The STAR that the company is disappointed but will remain firm in the stance.

"That is sad to hear, but if that is the case, we are disappointed, but we will be standing by our decision," she said.

"To retaliate is not our modus operandi," said Wittingham-Osborne, before noting that Red Stripe would, however, be looking into the situation. "We will certainly be looking to see what initiatives could be implemented. We are not against the music industry," she declared.

Response

In response to the claims of Mutabaruka, Wittinghman-Osborne said, "We are standing by the statement that we have made."

The April 4 release had said: "...Consequently, Red Stripe will not renew our contract for title sponsorship of Reggae Sumfest and Sting. We will, however, ensure that our brands are made available whenever and wherever our loyal consumers enjoy premium alcohol beverages."

In a subsequent interview, Whittingham-Osborne said the withdrawal is in tandem with the company's corporate strategies and values.

"The key thing is the fact that Jamaica has been labelled as the murder capital of the world and we need to take stock of all the things that we are doing to contribute to it," she said. "The glorification of violence in the music is not helping our situation."

Sponsorship Woes Kingston, Jamaica: April 27th 2008
Source: jamaicaobserver.com

So Diageo Red Stripe has finally pulled the sponsorship plug on live events. This action was inevitable, given the region of Europe where their headquarters is based and the worldwide reach of it products. Added to that is the fact that total sales of Red Stripe internationally is miniscule in comparison to some of their more popular brands.

Diageo's real problem is that by association, sales on these products could be more severely impacted by organised and targeted multinational consumer boycotts of its entire range of alcoholic beverages in the large markets which drive its volumes. Given this context, their recent decision was inevitable in order to preserve their share of the market.

At the same time, this action will have serious repercussions for the local live entertainment circuit. In Jamaica, there are only about 20 companies who assign significant sums for sponsorship of live popular events. Of these, traditionally, Red Stripe has been one of the top three. Both in terms of the number of events sponsored each year, as well as the amount they are prepared to dedicate to each project. This decision, therefore, will leave a gaping hole in the collective pool of private sector sponsorship funds and shall force some promoters to increase their risk funds. It may even lead down the road to increased entry prices for shows and parties.

Against this background, I was very impressed by the Elephant Man television interview on last week's episode of On Stage on CVM TV. It is always intriguing to observe the transformation of an artiste's viewpoint when his career takes off internationally. Usually, when they begin to travel frequently and interact with other cultures they soon develop a more enlightened worldview. I have never before heard Elephant Man sounding so eloquent. His comments on issues affecting the entertainment industry were obviously well thought out and influenced by his burgeoning career. The interview also showed the viewers and his fans a serious thinking and maturing Ele.

That same night, we attended Sizzla's Birthday Bash, dubbed Rise To The Occasion IV at Temple Hall Estate. The central issues addressed by the artistes in song and on-stage commentary were condemnation of homosexuality, the glorification of "gangsterism" and gun- "b***yboy, mi an' mi ten big gun a go visit yuh" (Turbulance) and the rejection of the new drive by police to enforce the Noise Abatement Act. At various times, it seemed like we were attending a political rally with some very militant statements coming from artistes like Coco Tea, Turbulence and Twin of Twins in particular.

Some of these acts seemed to be literally goading the considerable contingent of police present, to shut down the event at 2:00 am, if they dared. While simultaneously agitating the 2000 strong crowd to resist any attempt to do so. I was gearing myself up for a night of civil disobedience, but the police, very wisely and responsibly, took a somewhat flexible approach to the deadline. They allowed the event to proceed for about 45 minutes beyond 2am and by so doing prevented any cause cŽlbre. In a twist of fate, this relatively early ending time, seemed also to help Sizzla's cause because some of the top billed artistes were obvious no-shows.

In order to meet the time restrictions, promoters will have to consider reducing the length of their line-up. One of the unfortunate features of the night was the short stints which each artiste gave on-stage. Not many songs were done, and in most cases, the artiste only delivered a few lines from each song performed.

Before closing, I wish to congratulate Headline Entertainment and their most informative online newsletter. This has been a welcome addition to the media spectrum. So far, each edition has been well put together, covering significant current developments within the entertainment sector, as well as artistes' tour schedules and albums releases. This just goes to show that one needn't compromise quality in the drive to achieve success and popularity.