NOW VIEWINGReception
Debate & reception

DebateContested

Who breaks a record — the shop counter or the radio?

One side

Shop-counter sales as the true tastemaker

The other

Radio playlists as the gatekeeper

What was argued

Two documented views on where a Jamaican hit is really made, stated neutrally: one holds that counter sales and shop-front selectors were the true tastemakers who told producers and radio what mattered; the other credits radio DJs and station playlists as the gatekeepers that turned a local seller into a national hit. No verdict.

The records this concerns

Sources

Lloyd Bradley, Bass Culture; David Katz, Solid Foundation; Jamaica Gleaner archive