Every week there are 4 recurring compilation albums on the Billboard Reggae Chart, ‘Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers’, Shaggy’s “Boombastic Collection”, “Dutty Classics” by Sean Paul and UB40’s Greatest Hits. Whenever a song is played from these collections even if played from the original album, it goes towards to compilations weekly tally according to Adam Gross Vice President Of Ineffable Records. Adam’s top artist Stick Figure has three albums that are also mainstays on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart; “Set In Stone”, “World on Fire” and their most recent set “Wisdom”.
Stick Figure is a successful band based in California and Ineffable Records, is into both the recording a live music business. Wisdom debuted at no. 51 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Bermuda raised reggae singer Collie Buddz who is also on Ineffable’s roster has been streamed over 853 Million times on Pandora. Ineffable Music Group owns or operates 10 U.S. festival venues and one of their secrets to success which they advise artists and their management teams for managing events, is an app known at “atVenue.” The app has generated more than $4 billion in gross sales to date and served more than 15,000 customers.
It is a mobile artist management tool that allows artist to report SoundScan media sales of albums as well as manage your merchandise sales and settle your shows from the road. atVenue has been around for 10 years but it is not widely known to most reggae artist in Jamaica. However, it is a game changer for reggae musicians whose main source of income is live shows according to Adam, who is currently in Jamaica at the IMC (music conference).
Reggae singer Protoje, whose Billboard charting album Ancient Future (2015), spent 17 weeks on the Reggae Albums chart, spoke candidly about reggae’s need for more spaces and shows in order to rebuild the eco-system.
“Reggae music more than any music in the world feeds off of live music, so the you talk about not being able to have shows not being able to have an eco-system the music has to dip in some way. its to like there are 30 reggae dances in Jamaica,” he assessed. However, more than venues what reggae needs is to be more integrated into the global music ecosystem where record sales count as success and atVenue can help according to the app’s website.
atVenu is helpful for touring artists like Protoje and many others to track and report sales of CDs and other music media directly to SoundScan now Luminate. In addition artist can manage the selling of their merchandise using the app including count in, count out, comps, venue splits, and settlements, just using a phone that is connected to the internet.
For festivals like Rebel Salute, there is another feature called “atVenu Register” which is an iOS point-of-sale solution built specifically for the Live Event industry. Their website says you can “track your sales, collect Credit Card payments, and keep your inventory up to date in real-time.
The company has surpassed $4,052,496,886 in gross sales from 896,546 events and Ben Brennen, President and Co-foudner of atVenu recalls about how he came up with the idea: “the journey to this point has been incredible,” president and cofounder Ben Brannen says. “I was having a rough go as an entrepreneur in 2011 and almost gave up, but I had one last idea from my years of managing bands: a merch logistics and data system to ease the pains I knew existed in the touring industry.”
With no tech background—but an unshakable belief that there was room for innovation in the multi-billion-dollar music merch industry—Brannen pushed forward.
“I wrote a 52-page Word document describing every button and action of the platform I wanted to build,”
he says.
In May 2012, the young company processed its first transaction—for $10!—and set out on its path to revolutionize the way the music industry tracked, sold, reported, and managed its inventory per Forbes.
“It’s been an incredible first ten years for the atVenu team. From starting as an idea in the back of a touring van, to becoming the industry standard for concert merchandise is an accomplishment for which we’re grateful,” Brannen told Music Business Worldwide.
“We’ve been able to grow quickly because we’ve proven that our software increases profits, reduces errors, and simplifies the daunting process of selling merchandise on the road no matter the size of artist or event,” Brannen told Forbes 5 years ago.
If more reggae artist use atVenu they will see their album sales report increase each week from venue Soundscans and there will naturally be a switch up in which albums chart in the top ten. Artist can also find the process of selling merchandise less tedious.
atVenu even curated a list of items that are popular in genres like Hip Hop, Rock and Country audience on their blog site.
