Island Records’ founder, Chris Blackwell, says the contemporary scene’s instant-sales regime does not mesh with his policy of artiste development.
Speaking with Jamaica’s The Sunday Gleaner last week, Blackwell said, “I believe an artiste needs nurturing for a long-term career.”
Island was one of the music industry’s most powerful independent companies, along with Motown and Stax. Although he had commercial success with acts like the U2 and Bob Marley.
He said he met Marley in 1972 after Jimmy Cliff, the man he believed would have been reggae’s first superstar, left Island. While he was keen on the Wailers, Blackwell said even Marley was eyeing immediate chart success.
“He was big into people like (soul singer) Johnny Nash and badly wanted a hit on the black charts in America,” Blackwell recalled. “I told him it wasn’t going to happen, and that they would be more effective as a rock band. I thought Bob could be the next Jimi Hendrix.”
