JOSEF Bogdanovich, CEO of Downsound Records (DSR), said he intends to speak with his attorneys to recoup monies invested in reggae singer Nature.
Nature – who, for six years, was part of the label – is the latest act to announce his departure.
“I’ll be speaking with my lawyers to add up the tab,” Bogdanovich told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
“We had him on Reggae Sumfest, which is a paid show. The next day, we flew to Los Angeles for a 15-show gig, which DSR financed; then to England to perform before an audience of 20,000; then to an annual festival in Holland. We then took him to Rio in Brazil at Jamaica House to celebrate our athletes’s achievements. We put him in the limelight,” he continued.
The businessman said he and Nature never had a ‘sit down’ prior to his exit, but also said he wouldn’t have stopped him.
“What we do at Downsound Records is that we don’t fire people, we just let them go. And when we do, they just fade from the spotlight,” said the CEO.
Nature (given name Andre Ellis) is not the only high-profile artiste in recent times to have parted ways with DSR. Last year, Ishawna turned her back on the company, while the year before, Ninjaman did the same.
“It’s more hype than high profile. Ninjaman didn’t depart; his contract had expired,” said Bogdanovich, an American businessman who is a major investor in local entertainment.
He recently became chairman of Summerfest Promotions, promoters of annual summer festival Reggae Sumfest. He is also majority shareholder in the Kingston Live Entertainment Group, which owns Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Kingston and Famous Nightclub in Portmore.
In 2014, he partnered with Isaiah Laing, principal of Sting, to stream that one-night event to nearly 200 countries.
The CEO rubbished the notion that he was too busy with other business projects to give Downsound Records the attention it deserved.
“I can multi-task…I’m an international business executive. My track record speaks for itself. Downsound Records is alive and well. We just finished building our studio. We’ve just finished up seven singles which will be released shortly. It’s about the music with artistes which are having an impact. We spend money and put people together and get things done,” he said.
Started in 1999, Downsound Records is based in Kingston. It has produced acts including Fantan Mojah and Nanko.
So you mean to tell me say all these shows and gigs that Nature did downsound never get a penny? Nobody no cut no check gi you Joe how you wickkit so? You capitalize as much as or even more so than the artists did in y’all six year relationship. How you never seek attorney fi Ishawna when she exit stage right? There is no way, I mean absolutely NO way you were finding this artist career without any residual.
How him fi get pay when the promoters are being paid to put them on the shows..Doing the shows a fi promotion is not like him get a booking
So Met you mean fi tell me say for 6 whole years Joe was “paying” the promoters to put the artist on show and and no time did he recoup? Come on man if 3 years and you not making something off any business venture (in this case the dj) then you obviously doing something wrong. Reevaluate marketing strategies, appeal to a different or wider audience. Jamaica is filled with enough upcoming and established artist for that kind of practice, yes him probably see something in the long run where he would have made alot off of him. But it was not a charity case for the duration of the “relationship”
Long story oo…
Down sound need some new artist.
Mek joe f**k off Met. As mi get first hand knowledge of this situation. Joe get paid but Joe ago say that now bcuz Nature a probly one a the few artiste weh mek him money. If him spend any bag money a nuh pon Nature a pon Ishawna. And Mr. Scatta u is a big part of the problem, anything him tell Joe him run with. A scatta him fi pree fi him money. Mi see scatta ask fi money say him a spend pon Nature and God bless wah the shit house spend and lock off the money fi himself. So him n “Ms Curvy” can go Hedo go freak out. Pussy unnu fi gweh n luw the yute mek him gwaan bout talk to lawyers.
Down sound need fi lock down….how them seem to conduct business don’t make any sense….pumpin money into artists and not making back any because of how many people you have to be paying to make the artists relevant! No sah!
Joe me know you have money a role in from all bout, but a better you go put di money inna something that a bring in something, cause this nuh mek no sense!
In all honesty this is how they did business back in the day and the artist would pay back when their career kicks off. I think he should stop now and find a diff strategy cuz its a waste of money, the artistes eventually leave and fck his money up. I get where Joe coming from. He couldnt go so hard with Ishawna cuz he was f**g her from dem time deh and probably shame.
Downsound shoulda keep Footah on board and run weh big pussy Ishawna dem woulda inna a betta place now cuz things were kicking off well before the soap opera happened, but it seems people would prefer this place doing bad than good smh.
For someone with international business experience and locals don’t know much of their artists etc….. Everything this man touch in ja always look like a loss instead of profit……
Joe a dash out insult to, bout when artiste leave Downsound dem just fade outta di spotlight:ngakak :ngakak Joe, please to change di name a di business, maybe dats why you naw experience no long-term success wid your artiste dem. Di word ‘down’ has a negative edge to it. Sometimes new branding, new name, and a new vision can inject life in a fading enterprise.