Reggae music: is mp3 the new 45 single?

Heart and soul of the vibrating reggae music culture always have been the 7" 45rpm singles. But times are changing fast. The output of Jamaican music is so high that producers give it out as promo cd to djs and radiostations. From here the songs make their way to the filesharing networks. That's where the music fans get it from. By the time the official record is out, the hardcore-fan already heard it too often and has newer stuff in the player.
Most DJs and reggae soundsystems already switched to cd players. Only in Europe you still might find the traditional medium.


How will the change of the medium change the music?
The circle how we see it at the moment, is not very satisfying for producers and artist. Of course they have more promotion options, but still no income - even if the song is a club hit.

A big chance might be legal mp3s. Europe's biggest reggae distributor, Soundquake, just launched a mp3-Store. Now the reggae market has a chance, to be on time and make some money.

Read an interview with Soundquake about their new store (in German) with a nice comment by dhm's Bass.