Reggae Blogs

[Keyman]

Hey everbody... I just wanted to share some blogs that I have found to be great sources of information and getting some free reggae music.

I have created a blog that offers some free reggae downloadable albums as well as offering some books on the rastafarian faith. All downloads are either in zip files or .rar files. Very easy to download and unzip (safe). Please come by and tell me what you think. If there are any musicians or albums you would like to see please let me know also. My address is: (edited)

[Vex]

Stop pirating reggae music!!! Do you seriously think any hard working reggae musician want you to share their music for free!? How are they going to keep putting out quality music if everybody steals it!?

[keyman]

Vex,

Thank you for your response. You definatly have a point. I have come back to this argument many times since creating this blog.

But, There is always 2 sides to every story. I feel that on the flip side, artists could benefit greatly from this service. It is known fact that artists do not make the bulk of their money from cd sales, it is the performances they do that bring them more money. How is an artist to get his name out to other parts of the world? I believe "pirating music" is one way it can work in the positive.

The albums that I have on my site are only good for 30-60 days, after that they are automatically deleted. By having reggae artists music up there, fans from around the globe get the exposure. These fans could even demand that their favorite artists come and perform for them. In this way, hard-working Reggae musicians are benefiting from this service.

Reggae music is the people's music. It is a spiritual music that everyone needs to hear. I am quite confident that most reggae musicians are thankful anytime their messages are being heard. Allowing people to get those messages for free for a month-2 can benefit everyone in the end.

Vex, You do have a point and your point is very valid.

[Roots Archives]

Keyman: please don't advertise your blog all over the place
Thanks.

[nickfa]

what happens if, as sadly in many cases now days, the arist his dead, then your argument does not hold any ground.
The reason artists do not make much now days from cd sales is no one buys them they just download for free..i can understand people wanting to put up lp's that have never been rereleased and are long gone but the web is full of new cd releases, which will stop the smaller companies from producing them.
Nick

[Mick Sleeper]

Would you go into a grocery store, take some fruit, meat and cans of soup, and then give them away in the parking lot? You could justify it by saying "these groceries need to be appreciated by everyone, I'm doing the grocery store a favour by promoting and exposing them, and I'll only do it for two or three days"?

Almost all of the great reggae reissue labels - Blood & Fire, Heartbeat, Auralux, Motion - are now gone, in part because people thought it was OK to distribute their music for free.

I know that the genie is out of the bottle and will never be put back in again, but all of these blogs that shamelessly give away music and cultivate an attitude of "why pay for music when you get get it for free" are shameful.

End of old man lecture; enjoy your piracy.

[DWick]

I, for one, see both sides to this argument. I have downloaded music that has introduced me to new artists, and have then purchased other, and often the same music by the musician. I have come to the point in my life where I have trouble justifying the purchase of much new music, as I have spent countless amounts on CDs, etc. Downloading has helped me be more selective with my purchases as it gives me a chance to hear more music/artists before just running out and buying.

I feel like the people who download exclusively would probably not be buying the music anyway, so the exposure provided by downloads can be a positive in these cases.

Also, my personal experience has been that the people who complain the most about downloads are the people who buy much of their collection as used LPs. I see this as the same as downloading, as it also provides no direct financial compensation to the artist. Why does no one ever complain about this, or about the years of record companies making millions while the artist gets only a small percentage from sales?

I would love it if I could download anything I wanted, and then make direct contributions to artists. I don't feel like I'm supporting the artist all that much when buying a CD; mostly just supporting the record company.

Remember, reggae is music for the people, not only for those who can afford to buy it (like most of us on this site). If you can afford it, buy it. If you can't afford it, download it. I cannot imagine any conscious artist getting upset that someone downloads their music who otherwise would not have access to it.

With all that being said, I appreciate people like Keyman (and Mick- your site is great btw) who share this music, and also appreciate those who are passionate about the survival of the artists and their music.

Respect,
DWick

[Dubmart]

I work for a small label, (definitely not rich), we put out Reggae, I deal with Reggae artists and I can tell you for a fact that people uploading entire CDs for free are destroying the music industry and taking money out of the pockets of artists.

When you spend months on an album, along with thousands of pounds and within days of release it's all over the net, offered for free, then you really question whether or not to continue putting out music. We price our releases reasonably, we make then available for anyone in the world, in every format, so it's not like anyone has an excuse that they can't afford it, or get it in their country, no a large part of the Reggae audience are just a bunch of thieves, as simple as that. If you think that downloading music isn't taking money out of artists pocket than come and see me and I'll introduce you to artists who could use every penny they can get, people who upload the music and those that do nothing but download it are parasites without a conscience.

As has been pointed out, they've killed, Blood And Fire, Motion, Auralux, Moll Selecta, Makasound and almost every other Reggae label, perhaps they won't be happy until there are none left, these enemies of Reggae and it's creators.

You want to share, provide samples or promote the music then why on earth do you have to post the entire CD when 90 second samples will do exactly the same job? The answer, you don't, your excuses are lies, all those stolen goods you give away for free generate your site web traffic and make you money, or maybe it's just about your ego.

[Rootsmanx]

Fully agree here, if you want to promote the music, make a nice podcast with your own compilation, bootleg live recording or mix. Be creative yourself. But just dont throw full album copies on the net. If destroys the value of your own record collection.

[DWick]

Dubmart, you cannot say for a fact that someone who downloaded a CD would have bought that CD if they had not had the opportunity to download it. That is an assumption, not a fact. Another assumption, not fact, is that downloading destroyed reissue labels. It is surely not the sole reason labels went under. As much as we on this site love reggae, it is a very small market when compared to other music genres.

Also, just because your CDs are reaonably priced does not mean anyone can afford it. Buying music is a luxury, not a necessity. If you cannot put rice on the table to feed your family, you certainly cannot afford a CD. There are many countries in the world where that is the reality for the majority of people.

Anyway, calling people parasites, vampires, pirates, etc is not going stop people from uploading/downloading.