Money Moves: Usain Bolt Outlines Strategic Masterplan For Dancehall Industry To Strike It Rich
Sprint kingpin, now Dancehall star, Usain Bolt, has come up with a strategic master plan for the genre, which he says, once meticulously implemented, will guarantee boundless economic fortunes for Jamaica’s musicians.
Among his suggested strategies, which he shared on his Instagram page on Thursday are: collaborative international tours featuring 10 or more Jamaican Dancehall artists at some of the world’s biggest arenas; the creation of a suitable/workable structure for the Dancehall/Reggae industry and the positive promotion/marketing of the two genres globally by all stakeholders.
The globe-trotting star also said based on his experience Dancehall and Reggae are ‘well-loved” and the music is in high demand internationally.
Bolt, who is among the 10 richest persons in Jamaica, and was the 45th richest athlete in the world prior to his retirement from sprinting, might be a potential investor, and based on his international connections and global reputation, could very well be the man to take charge and marshal the plans to fulfilment.
The Country Yutes producer, in his post, first took aim at Reggae and Dancehall detractors, echoing the long-espoused sentiments of music selector and producer Foota Hype, in his lengthy statement which he titled A Lover of Reggae/Dancehall Music, that, among other things, Dancehall and Reggae are gigantic genres which are underestimated and taken for granted.
“When their hype expire them start to push the narrative that nothing not going on in dancehall/ reggae music,” Bolt declared in his opening sentence.
“If everyone keeps pushing that narrative about the music then what we expect the world to say,” he added.
The three-time Olympic champion also rubbished any notion that Dancehall and Reggae are on the decline, contending, like he did last year, that what it needs is proper structure.
“I say there is a lot of positives going on in the music. (Yes there is always more to do in bringing structure to the genre.) However it’s full time we highlight more of the positives & the progress of music as the artists/producers continues to push the envelope of the genre,” the Trelawny native noted.
The track icon also pointed to the number of persons from other countries and genres who have been sampling Dancehall tracks, the majority of which are decades old, as evidence that the genre is unstoppable.
“I feel the music has never been sampled so much in all its years as it is being done now by so many other genres. (Now capitalize & secure your bag to, not bash it),” the world’s fastest man said.
The father of three, also shared other sentiments of Foota Hype, who, incidentally, declared Jamaica, last year, as “the Usain Bolt of Culture”.
“We have so many artists representing the brand international and flying the Jamaican brand. (Just like our Athletes. Jamaican Athletes & Artists are the two greatest promoters of brand Jamaica. Let nobody tell you anything different),” Bolt said.
“Yes we need to move the nostalgia of dancehall music to the fore front of this generation,” he added.
The sprinter also delved into statistics, noting that despite Dancehall’s supposedly low streaming/sales numbers, the genre was having a massive impact globally.
“The research says the genre of dancehall music is only 6% of the market. Yes ppl only 6%. But still Look at the impact the music is having on the world. Some would even say the genre is overachieving with its impact. (Doesn’t mean we are to be complacent now),” he said.
Bolt then made the “boss move”, which many are convinced is the “Dancehall declaration of the year” pointing to more collaborative international tours, echoing this time, the sentiments of Heads High deejay Mr. Vegas.
“Hear me out. Instead of a few artist a try sell out clubs why not 10 dancehall act tour together and lock down arenas like O2, MSG & Staples Center etc. What’s better 100% of 10$ or 10% of 1 million?” he argued.
Added Bolt: “(FYI- Nothing is wrong with healthy competition & being the baddest artist/ lyricist/ Dancer etc. It’s this competitive juice that brings out the best in all facet of life.) But just know that there is Power in Unity people. Stop talking about it and do it. ‘Say-less, Do More’. PS (Unnu don’t have to listen to me. Just know I’m out here in this world & seeing how people respond happily when they hear our music. Them love it and want more me a tell Unnu.
In February this year, Bolt had lamented the tardiness, unprofessionalism and lack of structure in the Dancehall industry in an interview with Irie FM’s K’Shema Francis.
At the time he said he was not happy with some Dancehall artists’ tardiness and apparent lack of respect for time, transgressions which are unacceptable in athletics, even at the amateur level.
The lack of punctuality issue, in particular, seemed very bothersome for him as he kept lamenting about it during the interview.
Bolt had said that since joining the Dancehall fraternity as a producer, he has discovered that tardiness, unprofessionalism, and other issues plaguing the industry, were due to the fact that Jamaica’s music industry sufferers from a lack of structure, a widely-held sentiment by many artists, producers and even academics at the University of the West Indies, who are scholars of the genre.
“I think that is one of the problems with the business in Jamaican music in that people are not very professional in what they do and that’s what think personally is holding back the music,” he said at the time.