Seretse Small, CEO and Founder, Griot Music

Griot Music recently received an official endorsement for Live Music Nation from the Jamaica Tourist Board who have pledged their full support.  Live Music Nation now offers quality live music shows four nights a week at different venues around Kingston.

Targeting the Jamaican government for their endorsement of Live Music Nation events and leading Jamaican companies for sponsorship, Griot Music intends to grow their brand as part of a thrust to improve the Jamaican standard of living as one of the few companies actively investing in Jamaican art and culture.Griot Music’s CEO and founder, Seretse Small came up with the idea of Live Music Nation as the first phase in a plan to make Jamaica the live music capital of the world. “As a musician, I want to make Jamaica the live music capital of the world. There’s no other way to do it other than by investing in the development of the musicians themselves”, says Seretse Small.  Mr. Small explained that Live Music Nation has a programme for musicians to allow them to develop in a safe environment, and perform at a high standard to eventually enable them to  tour anywhere in the world.

When asked about the risks involved, Mr. Small responded, “Globally, the music industry is in a slump for the 8th year in a row. Any investor knows that when the industry is in a slump, this is the best time to jump in, take a risk and take advantage of opportunities.”   Explaining that the slump is not about the global economy, because digital music sales are up, Mr. Small believes that the local music industry has been ignoring artist development and so now there are recording artists who cannot perform and have albums with only a few good songs. Seretse further believes that “in any business, you have to do the ground work before you can reap rewards”.

Live Music Nation takes place on Tuesday and Thursday nights at Christopher’s Jazz Café, The Village Blues Bar on Friday and Heather’s Garden Restaurant on Saturday nights.  And starting in September, there will be alternative/rock at Grosvenor Galleries on Wednesday nights.

Shows start at 7:30pm and cost $500. The format of Live Music Nation is three sets that last 45 minutes each performed by a full band.  See a calendar of events online at www.griotpublishing.com