Time now for news on those historic peaces talks that reached a conclusion yesterday. Yep, a coalition of gay rights groups yesterday reached an agreement with key reggae and dancehall record labels and gig promoters regarding their increasingly vocal campaign against those artists in the genre who have a history of writing homophobic lyrics, some which seem to incite violence against gay people.
Those labels have promised to not release any music that incites violence against gay (or any) people in the future, nor to re-release the tracks that have caused most opposition in the gay community.
The promoters will likewise insist artists they promote do not perform those songs on stage. In return gay rights groups like
OutRage will drop their proactive campaign against artists like
Beenie Man and Sizzla which has led to the cancellation of numerous tour dates by venues frightened of getting bad press.
Speaking for key players in the reggae industry, including record companies
VP and Greensleeves, distributor Jet Star and concert promoters
Jammins and Apollo Entertainment, Glen Yearwood told reporters yesterday: "The reggae industry will work with the artists
- while still maintaining their freedom of speech and artistic freedom - we'll advise them this is not the way forward in a civilised society". Yearwood also admitted that the proactive nature of campaigning by the likes of OutRage had hit the reggae industry hard: "If you can't have major stars touring, then you don't sell many albums".
Speaking for gay rights group OutRage, Brett Lock told reporters: "The main players in the dancehall reggae industry will attempt to regulate the industry themselves to ensure that there aren't any violently homophobic or gay-bashing lyrics in the future.
As a gesture of good faith, we have agreed to suspend our aggressive campaigning against murder music. So we shall not be picketing concerts or calling for prosecutions to give the industry the space to regulate and reform itself."
The deal does not require artists like Beenie Man, Sizzla, Elephant
Man, Buju Banton, Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel to apologise for past lyrics - which is just as well as it is unlikely any of them would be willing to issue anything more than the vague unqualified apology issued by Beenie Man's record label last year, if that. Whether they support the move made by the commercial end of their industry is not clear and it remains to be seen if they can resist the temptation to perform the tracks that have caused most controversy at future gigs.