American reggae acts outselling their Jamaican counterparts

by DRW
(Jamaica & U.S.A)

Damian Marley Affairs of the Heart

THE trend of American reggae acts outselling their Jamaican counterparts continues.

The latest figures from sales tracker Nielsen Sound Scan should be of concern for producers of homegrown reggae.

A troubling aspect is that some of the hottest and younger artistes are not selling well in the United States.

The number-one spot on Billboard magazine's Reggae Album chart is the original soundtrack for the recently released documentary, Marley. It has been on the chart for one month and has sold more than 10,288 copies.

The soundtrack is among four Marley titles in the Top 30 of the reggae chart.

Ziggy Marley's Grammy-nominated Wild and Free album has been on the chart for the past 48 weeks and has so far sold 20,154 copies. His brother Steven Marley's Grammy-winning Revelation Part 1: the Root of Life sits at number seven and after 51 weeks, has sold 29,988 units.

Another Marley title, Live Forever: The Stanley Theatre, credited to Bob Marley and the Wailers, topped the charts on its release more than one year ago.

After 68 weeks on the chart, the set has moved an impressive 75,657 copies.

However, it is rising American bands like Santa Barbara, California-based Rebelution, which seem to be attracting reggae fans.

Rebelution topped the Billboard Reggae Album chart more than four months ago with their latest album Peace of Mind. The set opened with more than 16,000 copies and has so far sold 39,088 copies.

Peace of Mind is number two on the reggae chart.

Virginia reggae band Sojah continues to experience moderate sales for its eighth studio album, Strength to Survive.

After 15 weeks on the chart, the album has sold 29,293 copies.

Hawaiian reggae band The Green's Ways and Means album is at number 10. In its 29th week on the chart, Ways and Means has so far sold 15,076 copies.

Soure: www.jamaicaobserver.com