Music Shelf life Down But Reggae Still Outpaces Dancehall

- Staff Reporter

Despite the perceived notion that Dancehall is the dominating homegrown music export, a recent report by Caribbean based music metrics firm Certifiedstreams.com would beg to differ.

In its Industry overview report for Q1 2022, it was revealed that the shelf life of homegrown music has fallen significantly.

Homegrown Dancehall productions in the first quarter of 2022 saw an average shelf life of 11 days compared to Reggae productions which exhibited an average shelf life of 23.5 Days.

Though Dancehall releases for the period outpaced Reggae almost 9 to 1, Reggae releases were 4 times more likely to appear on Mainstream Music Charts charts than Dancehall releases.

Regardless of the differentials in numbers, Jamaican Homegrown music has been enjoying a fruitful year, with one of the largest collective contingencies of Reggae and Dancehall artists in the mainstream limelight since the early 90s.

Emerging acts such as Skillibeng, Skeng, Shenseea, and Shaniel Muir alongside seasoned veterans in the field such as Spice, Shaggy, and Sean Paul, have continued to make remarkable headways in mainstream media, and have been consistent in their musical delivery since the start of the year.

Certifiedstreams is the latest entrant to the music metrics space with a focus on Caribbean music data and operates 4 Official Music Charts, Reggaetop40.com, Dancehalltop40.com, Caribbeantop40.com, and Jamaicantop40.com.

The company also provides customized reports for major label A&Rs, independent producers, and academic institutions, with a data-driven bird's eye view of the Caribbean music ecosystem.