JR Watkis explores growth of reggae in new book

Global media and music chart specialist, Donovan 'JR' Watkis, provides a wave of sound advice while delving deeper into global reggae trends and other issues in his recent book, Reggae By The Numbers.

"There's a lot of misconceptions about reggae music and the artistes and what reggae can do commercially, and the data I curate in this book challenge a lot of past notions, exploring the global popularity of reggae with albums such as Legends: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers, which is the best-selling albums of all time. [The book also covers] a numerical perspective on reggae music, chart performances, live shows and streaming," Watkis told THE STAR. He, however, noted that the top-selling 'living' reggae band for the past five years are reggae musicians from California called Stick Figure.

Reggae By The Numbers was released on Amazon on May 3, and is among the 'Top 50 Bestseller' books. He also conceptualised a numerical charting of music on a global scale through his podcast, World Music Views (WMV) which further provides a breakdown of current reggae/dancehall trends, artistes and their impacts.

"Before World Music Views there wasn't a way in which persons were measuring music in Jamaica, but now you have charting that goes way beyond the US market. This therefore changed the narrative of music, putting into perspective how the reggae genre is being perceived both locally and globally. So WMV solved the problem of showing how the music is performing so artistes can target different markets; reggae music is no longer local - it's global," said Watkis.

On the issue of royalties, he said most of the music from Jamaica is not owned by Jamaicans, even Bob Marley's music.

"And the laws are also on the side of the owners because a lot of people (artistes) signed contracts that says 'Work for Hire'. Bob Marley's first five albums are owned by Universal Records because the contract was proven in court to be Work for Hire," he stated, adding that other artistes have not been paid for some of their music because of similar deals.

He said that Reggae By The Numbers underscored similar mistakes of the past and provides suggestions for artistes in the future. He advised creatives to make it their business to protect the work they create, while opining that not many artistes know the business part of the music as they overlook the "six rights of copy" which govern their craft.

With music becoming more digital, he also suggested that artistes should ensure they get themselves registered with one of the many platforms which calculate how many records are sold and streamed in order to 'hit the charts'. Watkis also encouraged them to conduct more tours than "spot dates" in order to capitalise on a larger fan base globally.

The music enthusiast further shared that the 'Jamaican cool factor' and culture heavily influenced how reggae music coming out of Jamaica makes a difference in how that particular genre is consumed.

"If you were cool already and you need to add that icing on the cake, just get the Jamaican vibe. [International stars] Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Drake and Justin Bieber used it and when they do, they call it something else, but it's still dancehall music. Five of the 130 songs that used the dancehall beats to merge in their music are now certified diamond," said Watkis.

The four-time author is also set to release a few other editions under this book series, including Dancehall By The Numbers, and Hip Hop By The Numbers.