Red Stripe Beer pulls sponsorship from all music events…but what’s the REAL reason?
It’s Sunday night and I don’t normally post on the weekends, but I read this story and it just irked me to the point that I was drawn to my laptop to give my two cents. It just really ticks me off when corporations, or even people in general, try to insult the consumer’s or public’s intelligence, now with that being said let me explain to you what I’m talking about.:)
Red Stripe has put the music industry in Jamaica on notice saying that it will no longer sponsor music events (this directly cripples two of Jamaica’s largest reggae shows, Reggae Sumfest and Sting) due to the “negative trend of glorifying violence…”, the company went on to say that “the move was in response to concerns that have been expressed about this trend by Jamaicans at home and abroad”. Stop the press right there! I’m sorry but I’m not buying either one of those statements, I’m just not. Let me first say that, had the previously listed reasons been the real reasons, I’d applaud Red Stripe’s call to action, but I’m skeptical about the given reasons for their decisions and I have a few questions to boot?
- Red Stripe sold almost $9 billion in beer during 2005-2006 alone, would a company that’s built a large part of it’s revenues and reputation from sponsoring stage shows just willingly abandon them without some kind of pressure from the government or corporate leadership? Come on now, let’s be real here.
- Why the call to action against violence and homophobia, but not misogyny? Haven’t all 3 been a part of the music since God knows when?
- Why punish all artists by not sponsoring any shows? There are plenty of artist who sing about everything BUT violence and homophobia, could it be because they wouldn’t bring in enough revenue to make it worth Red Stripe’s while??
- Red Stripe went out of their way to mention that “it would continue to ensure that its brands are made available whenever consumers enjoy premium alcoholic beverages”. OK, so what does that mean? Don’t most people enjoy alcohol at music events, so since they are upset about the violence in music does that mean that they are going to stop allowing their alcohol to be sold at ALL musical events as well?? Show me violence and I’ll show you alcohol or drugs “deh ’bout” almost 100% of the time.
This decision by Red Stripe in my opinion, boils down to pressure from the government and foreign ownership plain and simple, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but don’t say you care about the violence in lyrics when you sell Red Stripe on every corner on the island. More violence happens in the street than in the dance hall. We have a saying here in the US, don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, translation: Don’t say you care about violence when it’s really your bottom line and reputation you are attempting to protect.
15 comments ↓
Whatever the driving force behind this move by Red Stripe, I applaud it. Too many of the Dancehall artistes dwell on and glorify guns and violence. They do influence some elements of our society with their lyrics as, whether they like it or not, they are viewed as role models to some in their audience who are easily influenced.
Hey Stunner,
I hear what you are saying but not ALL artist glorify violence and you can’t SELL your product somewhere but PULL your sponsorship in the name of violence. If you are against it then be ALL the way against it. I also don’t think the music should be the sole bearer of the responsibility of being a role model. No one holds the businessman, the preacher, and the teachers to the same level as the artists. Why is that?
No need to get all twisted up about this. Red Stripe’s reasons are related to their bottom line - and any threat to that, real or perceived - will eventually get a corporation’s attention. They don’t give a shit about sexism or any of that stuff. Besides, woman-hating is not special or noteworthy anymore in Jamaica; that’s not going to warrant serious boardroom discussion. Sick and sad, ain’t it?
Jamaicans can hang on to the “its our culture and you can’t tell us what to do” bullshit for as long as we want, but the word is out, and slowly but surely, the most casual and random of conversations in the boardroom and hallways reveals that all the hype about Jamaica and its greatness (no evidence of this since King Sugar of the 1820s, mind you…) is wearing off, as it should have long ago. We need to stop being dupes and take ourselves seriously for once. Much of dancehall is crap; the misogyny, crass commercialism, rabid anti-battymanism, and oversexed antics would be seen as purely entertaining, if it wasn’t the only thing that we are allowed to hear on our airwaves, and the only thing we big up incessantly. As it is, the singular focus on dancehall as THE expression of who we are is really shegging us up, and we don’t even see it. Let dancehall be one option for the creative expression of those who want to participate and make a living as well, not the ONLY fucking way some ghetto youth can get ahead. If this is the best argument that we can make for why Red Stripe should continue to support this foolishness, we are really, really pathetic — and blind to raaasss!
Excellent points Long Bench!I endorse such points totally.Well said!!
Long Bench,
Thanks for stopping by and for your comments. You have an eloquent tone and make some very good points as well.
Esteban,
Thanks as always for speaking your mind!
[...] homophobic lyrics (past and present) and those who support them. Earlier this week, I reported that Red Stripe was pulling all sponsorship from music events (which some believed to be a move based on protests from gay rights activists), well the latest [...]
Please note I said “Too many of the Dancehall artistes” and not “ALL” as you are implying. There are a lot of artistes out there who do not choose to go the route of violent lyrics. Also please note I did note say music is the sole contributer to the ills of our society, indeed there are other factors too as you mentioned, however, music is a very powerful tool and thus these artistes should be mindful of that.
Long Bench made some good points too.
Stunner,
I think you misunderstood me, I think we both agree that the move was a step in the right direction, I just have a problem with the true motivation. I wasn’t trying to imply that you were saying ALL artists, I was speaking more to the fact that by Red Stripe removing their sponsorship for all musical events they are hurting ALL artists and that the overall sentiment in a lot of black music is that the artists are blamed for a lot of “ills” that aren’t solely their responsibility. Sorry if it came off like I was putting those words in your mouth, I was just elaborating on my earlier points in the posts. I think that everything that has happened this week in music (Red Stripe, I-Tunes, etc) is a good eye-opener for all involved, it shows that Jamaica and it’s people have more power than maybe they realized and that it should be used for good.
P.S. Thanks for the comments as always…I appreciate the dialogue! Keeps me on my toes.
[...] Yawd from Abroad: “This decision by Red Stripe in my opinion, boils down to pressure from the government and foreign ownership plain and simple, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but don’t say you care about the violence in lyrics when you sell Red Stripe on every corner on the island. More violence happens in the street than in the dance hall. We have a saying here in the US, don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, translation: Don’t say you care about violence when it’s really your bottom line and reputation you are attempting to protect.” Commenters discuss the problems with dancehall being the only lucrative form of expression and the previous blogger engages in some debate here. [...]
Violence isn’t Red Stripe’s bottom line, liquor is. Some people drink liquor and get violent, but not everyone does that. I can’t see any reason to stop selling their products at the events either. I think that stopping the sponsorship is a firm enough statement. No need to hurt the bottom line. I’m not so sure that Red Stripe built its reputation through sponsoring stage shows either. They had their rep. long before they started promoting stage shows. Is 1927 the company (D&G) was formed, you know!
Hey Mad Bull :),
I understand that Red Stripe is in the beer business, but sponsoring dance hall has been a big revenue maker for them as well. I’m not saying that ANY of my points are absolutes for ANYONE, including drinking at shows and getting drunk or being violent, that wasn’t the intention of that point.( I personally can’t stand the taste of beer, of any kind and I’m not violent either.:)) The purpose of my entire post was to to state that I don’t think their reasoning is a 100% genuine, bottom line, and if you check any of the forums or comment boards around, I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I don’t think any company should support anything that is against their standards, and I definitely agree that dance hall needs a good “wash out”, and they have every right to do whatever they want, hey who am I? I’m not opposed to their decision at all, but if a valid argument is don’t stop selling liquor because not all patrons are violent drunkards and beer is the bottom line, then I think that not pulling sponsorship from all shows since not all artists are violent (homophobes) is a valid one as well.
I also understand that they didn’t build their entire reputation on stage shows, especially since the company is strongly diversified outside of Jamaica, but sponsoring events did contribute to a lot of their revenues because otherwise they would have pulled out before now, business is business right? They may have been founded in 1927 but just like no man is an island, neither is a company. You don’t stay in business for 81 years unless you capitalize and people buy your product, and they accomplished both by sponsoring musical events.
do u have sponsors in the pensacola fl/mobile al area if so how can i get sponsored
Q,
Thanks for stopping by but unfortunately, YawdFromAbroad does not provide sponsorships.
i have great music talent which i dont want to waste.
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