Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter

Acting general manager of 'Jamrock', Dave Rodney, showing the exciting articles in the publication. Looking on is director of business and legal affairs, Sapna Lal. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor

Everything Caribbean has now attracted a price tag. With reggae and dancehall music at the height of their international prominence and Jamaican colours also commanding serious monetary value, the Caribbean has become a hot commodity.

It is this commodity that Jamrock hopes to tap into with the first issue of their bimonthly Caribbean magazine launched last month in New York.

Spirit of the Caribbean

With Sean Paul gracing the cover of the first issue, acting general manager Dave Rodney and director of business and legal affairs Sapna Lal are in the island on a marketing outreach visit. Rodney explained that Jamrock was the brainchild of publisher, Jamaican-born David Annakie.

Annakie's concept was for Jamrock to convey the spirit of Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Rodney outlined that the two major objectives of Jamrock are to provide cutting edge information in music, travel, fashion and lifestyle. They will do this by identifying trends before they happen.

"We are on the street to see it happen," notes Rodney.

Second, Jamrock is an important marketing portal to the Caribbean diaspora. Reggae and Caribbean culture are hot and the Caribbean-American is a growing and wealthy market segment that wants to access Caribbean products, goods and services.

"There is no national outlet in terms of a magazine to make this happen," explained Rodney.

Perfect timing

Jamrock is distributed in the New York tri-state area, south Florida, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

"No other magazine has this kind of reach - 500,000 Caribbean people along with those who embrace their culture in the United States," Rodney said.

Sapna Lal, director of business and legal affairs, noted that the magazine has perfect timing.

"Reggae music sale has gone up. The Caribbean as a commodity that everyone wants to know about and be a part of."

Rodney said so far the response has been astounding and there have been nothing but "rave reviews so far both here and in the U.S."

Lal describes it in one word - 'hot'. She supports this point, noting that "Caribbean-Americans are educated and have a culture people want to emulate."