Hit-making trio DASECA have decided to take a refreshing approach to their latest riddim project - the Genesis. Instead of flooding the marketplace with CDs and free download links as soon as the project had been mixed, they decided to structure its release by keeping it exclusive to select radio DJs until it becomes available at digital retail (iTunes etc) March 23.
"What has become the norm for Jamaican producers is to literally give away the music as soon as it is finished," laments David Harrisingh, one third of DASECA. "Email blasts, social networking sites, blogs etc ensure the music ends up in the hands of any and everyone who wants it, and they don't have to pay for it. So while it creates a hype and give artists hit songs and generates shows and dub plate income for them, the producer has to pretty much wait on the few remaining labels who deal with Reggae to license a song here or there for a compilation. Whereas in the past labels would take the whole riddim from a producer, that has stopped because of poor sales and because our music has never been marketed properly causing it to end up in a mire. Producers are needed in the business just as much as artists so we have to find a way to survive."
The Genesis riddim was premiered on New York's coveted HOT 97, by Bobby Konders and Jabba last week Sunday and the buzz has already given DASECA much encouragement for their approach. The section of the radio show during which the Genesis was recorded by music fans and posted on YouTube instantly. A UK commercial radio premiere followed and of course Jamaica. With similar premieres taking place in Canada, Miami, Washington DC, Boston and other territories the trio are gearing up for the final marketing push this week before its imminent digital release. Banners and features on several influential blogs are all in the works.
"While we are realistic about the numbers we expect to do, we have to take a stance and try and regulate our ting," added Craig Harrisingh. "We are also expecting it to leak as soon as it is available, perhaps even before, but for us this is about trying to make a difference. We hope every producer takes a look at what we are trying to achieve and does something about it too so we can help change the culture of how we market and sell our music, because we are all feeling it. Thats why we called the riddim Genesis, because for us and we hope for the business as a whole, it signals a new beginning."
DASECA have many more riddims and singles lined up ready to release, next out the pack is a throwback sounding riddim called Dancehall Again and will be dropping them the same way the Genesis is being worked. Genesis will be available online (iTunes, Amazon, Zune, Verizon ringtones etc) as of March 23rd. Support the music!
mi see them point still but in this day and age they have to be very realistic from napster come in and globalisation and file sharing well you have easy access to information this riddim will be no different!