By Germaine Smith, Staff ReporterTO OLDER music heads, dancehall rhythms are too fast paced to appreciate. Terms like 'bugguyagga' and 'boggo boggo' are loosely slapped on the rhythms by folks who appreciate the slower, more laid back, bass heavy rhythms of older dancehall music.
The younger generation, however, seemingly can't get enough of these rhythms in their ears. No sooner than a rhythm is released, which is often, the race to the cassette (now CD) stalls to buy them begins. When this is not enough, they save precious pocket money to pay for the ringtone versions of these rhythms on their cellular phones.
The ringtone business in Jamaica, it seems, is blasting off. With just one phone call, music buffs are now able to download and then show off the latest and favourite rhythms on their own phones.
It is now common to hear the ringtone version of Capleton's In Har Heart, Elephant Man's Crazy Hype, or Kevin Little's Turn Me On when a cell phone rings. Teens and young adults, and in some cases older folk, are buying into the ringtone version business to get closer to their music.
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
Not only is the music popular, driving demand, but the current technology of the cellular phone industry is facilitating the process.
Both major cellular telephone networks, Cable and Wireless and Digicel, offer the ringtone service. Radio stations IRIE FM and ZIP 103 FM have partnered to offer the ringtone service to cell phone users through Digicel. Marketing manager for both stations, Brian Schmidt, says that the ringtone business locally is growing rapidly.
Based on the subscriptions from the stations, he notes its growth without revealing the figures to The Gleaner. As he explains, "our ringtones have been doing very well for both IRIE FM and ZIP 103".
As he notes, those who buy into the business are people very interested in the music, very interested in the technology, or both. Those, he adds, are the most important variables which will help it to grow even further locally.
"I think it is going to intensify because of population reasons. As long as the core of our population which is text friendly and into the technology and its advancements grows, the demand for the services will grow too," Schmidt said.
Added to that, he states, the music that dancehall producers put out will be a big factor in the growth as well.
"What will make it (growth) work is the popularity of the music as well. If the music is not popular enough to the people, it will not make popular ringtones. In fact, it is similar to record sales; it depends on the popularity. The two variables to consider are how hot the music is and if the population gets tech savvy enough. For them it is important to have these tones as soon as they get released," he said.
Although it may not seem important at this stage, producers can tap into this fledging market to register their popularity and presence and earn even more from their creative works. As Schmidt added, royalties for the versions are negotiated through local collection agency, the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP). Although the cash flow may not be as heavy as when they sell their rhythms overseas, every little bit adds up.
