The doors to the store in cyberspace, from which downloads of Jamaican music will be sold, were figuratively opened at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston by Minister of Commerce and Technology, Philip Paulwell.  Of course, the store owners, Sean Anderson, Horace Matthews and Christopher Rose, were on hand to display their service.

"The main reason for this is a love of the music and a need to return something to the artistes and musicians," Anderson said.  He said that the company, which is based in Ontario, Canada, seeks to return about 80 per cent of proceeds to the persons who make the music.

Considering that guest speaker Philip Paulwell had related that in 2004 Jamaican music generated US$1 billion, most of that outside Jamaica, the proceeds promise to be significant.

On the consumer side, reggaecountry.com was presented not only as a download sale site but as a total music experience, with up to date entertainment news and in-depth information on the artistes included in the package.

And while the music has to be paid for, the website now has music videos which can be watched for free.  There is also a reggae radio station on the site.

Accountability is key and Anderson emphasised that music which is not licensed to reggaecountry.com will not be available on the site.

TRACKABLE SALES

The accountability goes both ways, as the owners of the music will be able to keep track of their sales.  "We intend to give every producer and artiste who signs with us their own vendor number, so they can track their own sales," Anderson said.

He said that the actual sales go through a registered financial company, not reggaecountry.com.

Music will be available as singles or entire albums, with those persons who do not yet have an official album for a particular project being able to use a 'Reggae Country' album, specially created for the site.

Concert footage will be a part of the content available from the site.  Anderson proposes a set-up where "we will advertise it for free, you provide us with the footage and we will sell it and return a sizeable chunk of the money to you."  The evening's hostess, Paula-Ann Porter, noted that for the upcoming staging of International Reggae Day on July 1, reggaecountry.com will be running footage of past events.

Reggaecountry.com seems set to attract a sizeable chunk of the audience for Jamaican music, as an introductory site that had been up for a month before the official opening got 49,000 hits from 20 countries, including places as far-flung as Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Anderson thanked Arthur Wale, 'Free Willy', for being the first producer to put up a substantial amount of music for sale on the website.  He noted that Q45, Mario C, DJ Sunshine, Danga Zone, Tony Greene and Joan Andrea Hutchinson are among the other persons who have made the step towards using reggaecountry.com.

"This is not about the three of us," Anderson said of himself and his partners.  "It is about the people who make the music and the music itself."

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050622/ent/ent1.html