Kingston/New York-
Donovan Watkis, esteemed author and leading chart journalist, is releasing his fourth book, “Reggae By The Numbers: All You Need To Know.”
“Reggae By The Numbers” offers an in-depth exploration into one of the most influential music genres globally, tracing its commercial appeal since 1973, to its height of success with the legendary Bob Marley dominating the Billboard charts.
The book is a trove of vivid anecdotes straight from the mouths of hit-making artists, songwriters, and producers according to a press release. Readers will uncover the historical context of timeless albums and songs, along with the pivotal moments that shaped the genre, both for the better and the worse, accompanied by a wealth of other fascinating details directly from the horses mouth.
Several books covering reggae music has been released over the years, but there are not many music business books that follow the commercial successes of the music that originated from Jamaica.
This book stands as the definitive music reference for every reggae aficionado, delivering invaluable insights into the genre’s relationship with mainstream culture, the delicate balance between marketing the music while preserving its cultural essence, along with the intricate mechanics of copyright ownership and the global music business world.
“‘Reggae By The Numbers’ delves into the legal battles and lawsuits that have embroiled iconic figures such as Bob Marley, Musical Youth, Max Romeo, Trojan Records and Horace Andy, and many more because there has been many challenges faced by these influential artists,” Watkis stated.
The four time author said, “I learned a lot while putting this volume together from people who played a major role in reggae’s development like Chris Blackwell, Inner Circle, Miss Pat of VP Records, Shaggy, and many more people,” Watkis stated. Adding “and the body of research into court cases that set precedence for future copyright claims was fascinating to me.”
Known as Jamaica’s music numbers guru, Watkis founded World Music Views® in April 2018 as a television chart show on Entertainment Report in TVJ, a first of its kind to cover how music is being consumed in Jamaica, The USA, Canada and the U.K. as well as other parts of the world. His other career achievements include producing a Bank Of Jamaica Reggae inflation Targeting campaign with Tarrus Riley, Denyque and other reggae acts that became a global phenomenon.
“Reggae’s golden years happened in the 1970s, 80s early 1990s and that cause Timothy White, the then editor of Billboard Magazine to implement the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart,” Watkis said. 30 years later reggae is having a selling problem, both in the US and the UK, so my hope is that this book can highlight the errors and successes, contracts, as well as the modern technological tools artists and companies now have at their disposal to propel the music and the culture forward, and back to the top of the charts.”
The TV host’s last book “Cultural Capital: To Financial Capital” was released exactly two years ago on April 20, 2022 and was brokered into a TV show the Business & Entertainment Show in collaboration with the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
“Reggae By The Numbers” is published worldwide by WMV Publishing and will be available for pre-order on April 24, 2024, on Amazon and other major book retailers.
