ENTITY · CONCEPT / TERM
Crate digging as reggae research
Well supported
For much of this music the record itself is the primary source. Labels went out of business, session sheets were never kept, and a matrix number scratched in the run-out groove may be the only evidence of who pressed what and when. Serious research into Jamaican music is done partly in archives and partly in boxes of vinyl, and the two are not in competition.
At a glance
- Type
- Concept / term →
- Confidence
- Well supported
Coverage areas
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Connections
Debate & reception
What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →
Reissues need transparent credits
One side
Reissue curation
The other
Original-release evidence
Reissue labels and retailers help preserve Jamaican music, but.
Read the argument →The crate-digger economy: raising reggae's profile or pricing out local access?
One side
Global collectors and reissues raising reggae's profile
The other
Pricing the music beyond local reach
A documented debate about foreign collectors, dealers and reissue demand, stated neutrally: one view is that global crate-digging and vinyl revival have raised reggae's profile and preserved rare pressings; another is that speculative collecting and export inflate prices and move the music out of reach of the communities that made it.
Read the argument →Share this record
Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.
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