Jamaica's annual Reggae Sumfest will draw thousands of reggae music fans to Montego Bay this week.
In its 21st year, the festival, dubbed by organisers as "the world's greatest reggae show on Earth," is yet again expected to be a major economic driver for both Jamaican tourism and the reggae music industry.
The week-long festival, which starts today and runs until Saturday, takes place in Montego Bay's Catherine Hall. It kicks off with a beach party tonight, while Dancehall Night will take place on Thursday and International Nights 1 and 2 will follow on Friday and Saturday.
Popular artists such as Flo Rida, Beres Hammond, Barrington Levy, Damian Marley, Romain Virgo and Chronixx join this year's line up.
Tickets range from US$25 at the gate to $60 per night. There are also several packages available, including a weekend pass for $110 and a VIP pass for $210.
The festival's corporate sponsors include Digicel, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spas, Pepsi Music, Ting, Red Stripe and Jamaica Tourist Board, among others.
Each year, when festivalgoers arrive in Jamaica for Reggae Sumfest, the tourism industry benefits. This year is predicted to be no different.
"For many festival attendees, reggae music is their introduction to Jamaica," says Jason Hall, the deputy director of tourism for Jamaica.
"We're not at our peak time of the year for Jamaican tourism, but during Reggae Sumfest almost all the hotels are filled," says Charles Campbell, the executive director of the Jamaica reggae industry association.
Many hotels are booked as far out as Ocho Rios, which is an hour and 10 minutes' drive away from Montego Bay, according to Mr Hall. Several hotels, including Half Moon, the Richmond Hill Inn and Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, offer special Sumfest packages for the occasion.
While the festival draws fans from around the world to the region, other tourism areas, beyond hotels, also enjoy a boost in traffic and revenue. This ranges from guided tours to dining and nightlife to beach-related activities such as boating and parasailing. There is also the potential for repeat travellers who will attend the festival again or will choose to visit Jamaica another time of the year.
In addition, the festival provides an infusion, in terms of profits and public attention, for the reggae music industry, both locally in Jamaica and worldwide.
"Jamaica is the ground zero for reggae music," says Mr Hall.
"Reggae Sumfest provides a platform for truly dynamic artists along with those up-and-coming musicians stepping on to the global stage for the first time," he adds.
This year's festival comes at a time when the reggae industry in Jamaica is suffering something of a setback while other regions, such as Europe and the United States, seem to be thriving.
"Over the years, the business of making money in music has changed significantly," says Mr Hall.
He says recent milestones such as the inclusion of a reggae category in the Grammy Awards, the musical equivalent of the Oscars, and a special reggae segment during this year's BET Awards, which celebrate African Americans and other minorities in entertainment, has helped attract attention to the industry. However, he adds, the artists are still required to rely mainly on live performances for a steady income stream.
Mr Campbell agrees. "Reggae artists are doing well on the live circuit, but they are simply not doing what they used to do in terms of sales of CDs and merchandise, like T-shirts and posters," he says.
Music industry insiders say downloading songs from the internet is a big contributor to the declining sales of CDs.
The US sales tracking company SoundScan reported paltry record sales last year for big-name Jamaican reggae artists. For example, Reggae Music Again by Busy Signal showed sales of 4,548, while Romain Virgo's The System sold just 1,490 records. Beres Hammond's double compact disc titled One Love, One Life sold only 2,198 copies.
Meanwhile, although Jamaica and its artists have been in a slump regarding sales, Europe is experiencing "somewhat of a renaissance for reggae", according to Mr Campbell.
"More of today's popular reggae artists are living in Europe but come to Jamaica to produce music and for the vibe."
US reggae artists are also having more success. In contrast to the record sales of popular Jamaican musicians, American reggae hits such as Peace of Mind by the California band Rebelution sold 52,488 copies and Soja's Strength to Survive had sales of 38,427 in 2012, according to SoundScan.
However, reggae advocates in Jamaica firmly believe the country surpasses any other for this type of music, historically and in the present day.
In fact, many people share high hopes for a bright future of reggae in Jamaica.
"Jamaica is to music production as Bombay is to film production," says Mr Hall. "You have more musicians, technicians and sound mixers per capita in Jamaica than anywhere else in the world."
[ business@thenational.ae ]
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
FIGHT CARD
Featherweight 4 rounds:
Yousuf Ali (2-0-0) (win-loss-draw) v Alex Semugenyi (0-1-0)
Welterweight 6 rounds:
Benyamin Moradzadeh (0-0-0) v Rohit Chaudhary (4-0-2)
Heavyweight 4 rounds:
Youssef Karrar (1-0-0) v Muhammad Muzeei (0-0-0)
Welterweight 6 rounds:
Marwan Mohamad Madboly (2-0-0) v Sheldon Schultz (4-4-0)
Super featherweight 8 rounds:
Bishara Sabbar (6-0-0) v Mohammed Azahar (8-5-1)
Cruiseweight 8 rounds:
Mohammed Bekdash (25-0-0) v Musa N’tege (8-4-0)
Super flyweight 10 rounds:
Sultan Al Nuaimi (9-0-0) v Jemsi Kibazange (18-6-2)
Lightweight 10 rounds:
Bader Samreen (8-0-0) v Jose Paez Gonzales (16-2-2-)
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023
Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.