For the love of music: Eric Smith’s perseverance helped lead Easy Star Records and reggae’s global expansion

Photo courtesy of Eric Smith/Easy Star Records.

Dailyreggae.com caught up with Easy Star Records CEO, Eric Smith, to discuss reggae’s global expansion since the ‘90s, the evolving role of running a record label, up-and-coming artist and management tips, and Easy Star’s talented roster of artists including Rebelution and Jesse Royal.

What was the initial inspiration behind you guys starting Easy Star Records?

I have three partners, Michael Goldwasser, Remy Gerstein, and Lem Oppenheimer. We were all just out of college. We were all big music and reggae fans. My partner Michael was the one musician of the four of us. The rest of us were just music fans. Particularly at the time, in the mid-‘90s, I was a big dancehall fan. I kind of went into roots from early dancehall. We were fans of all styles of reggae growing up in New York. We loved the classic rhythms that were built from live bands and felt everyone was just repeating the old rhythms from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s. We wanted to create some new classics, so that was the idea.

We put together a 7-inch. We had a band, Easy Star All-Stars, with Michael and people from the scene. The idea was to put out a 7-inch or two before we had to figure out what our real life was going to be like and that led to more 7-inches. Quickly a lot of the Jamaican artists that were in New York, because we have such a big Caribbean and Jamaican scene, heard what we were doing, so we started linking up with artists like Sister Carol, The Meditations, Junior Demus, Sugar Minott, and put out our first compilation, Easy Star Vol. 1.

At that point, we were focused on putting out our own productions. But after a few years, we started licensing music including the early classic dancehall albums like Ghetto-ology by Sugar Minott that weren’t on CD yet. This licensing phase led us to work with more and more artists.

That’s awesome! So, during this early stage, were there any unexpected lessons that you’ve learned along the way?

Yeah, even today! You never stop learning lessons. That’s an amazing thing with business and in life. At first, we had no idea what we were doing. We had no formal business training. Michael was the only actual musician of the four of us.

Taking a product like a CD, vinyl, or download and creating a mass audience for it on the marketing side was a challenge. But both the production end of it and the marketing end of it were really interesting, especially actually producing albums. The overall business side was pretty eye-opening.

The key thing for us is that we came online right when the Internet was connecting the world. We were able to quickly find a niche for us in every country for reggae and spread our brand out from there.

We released Dub Side Of The Moon in 2003. That was seven years into the label and there were many points when we probably could have stopped before that. So perseverance, follow through and dedication was the key.

By that time, we had received good recognition from the scene. We wanted to be a label that took time with its releases, made sure the liners were spelled correctly, took care with the art design, etc. We felt there were a lot of throw-away releases coming out at the time. Blood and Fire was a label, which is not around anymore, that we looked up to as the benchmark. They respected the artists and the material. We were trying to do that, and because we succeed at that, we build good connections in the scene and quickly worked with so many of the artists that we looked up to for so many years.

When Dub Side came out, that was a game-changer, because all of a sudden we had a much bigger audience. And from there, we keep pushing through. We were true to what we envisioned and didn’t give up. Max those credit cards, (laughs) borrow money from your parents and friends (and pay them back!) like we did, work extremely hard, and usually good things happen. The cliches about how most businesses fail in the first few years are true. You’ve got to get through those early years. That was a nice lesson to learn. Sticking to it and not giving up pays off.

Now we are here almost 25 years later.

You built up recognition in your local scene and then the global reggae scene. And 2003 was the turning point for you guys and it was off the races!

By 2003, we were distributed internationally. We had a strong market in the UK and France and spread our tentacles around a bit.

What we see, now that we’ve been around long enough, is how much Dub Side inspired many of the artists we now work with. So that album was planting a seed that we wouldn’t see to fruition until many years later.

It was interesting to see how that project, which was self-produced, set the playing field for a lot of artists that have come through our doors and the scene in general later.

What is most fulfilling, and your favorite part of being on the business side of the reggae music scene and running a label? What at the end of the day makes you smile at what you’re working on?

I love the music. It’s amazing to work on the music you love. We’ve always been a curating label, so we’re always picking what we love and want to work with. Helping artists fulfill their dreams, whether you’re a label, manager, publicist, or roadie is amazing.

It’s truly fulfilling, as a non-musician myself and music lover, to help guide, support, and spread the word and the music of something you love and respect. 

That’s amazing!

When we first started going to the studio ourselves and working with veteran artists like Linval Thompson, Sugar Minott, Sister Carol, or Luciano, it was truly amazing.

The business side is great too. We took the idea we had, literally assigning jobs amongst our four partners, and incubated and grew a business that has lasted 25 years. It’s pretty awesome!

What do you think sets the reggae scene apart from other genres?

Each genre has its similarities and differences. It’s amazing to see the through-lines between genres. They all deal with similar things. But each genre has its unique history.

One thing that stands out about reggae. Is the fact that this truly global genre grew out of such a small island nation.

And while all genres have their imagery and “brand,” reggae has so much symbolism and visual aspects tied to it. The connection to Rastafarianism, Jamaica, and all the textures and colors associated with it. It has a very intense and distinct spiritual, political, visual, and emotional context that I think goes deeper than many other genres.

Reggae is also the music of the oppressed and disenfranchised, the music of struggle and protest worldwide. It’s global music. You find a reggae scene in every corner of the earth and particularly in corners of the earth that have fought against political, and social struggle. There are other genres that are steeped in protest and fights for liberation, but there is no other popular music that has been defined by it globally as reggae has.

Reggae is also a relatively young genre compared to blues or jazz, etc. And any genre’s place in time shapes its own distinct history.

For us, coming into reggae in the ‘90s and fast-forward to now, we’re seeing how reggae has evolved. As a label, when we first started, we were very much Jamaica facing and New York-based. The genre base was in Jamaica,  New York, Toronto, London. And over time, seeing the emergence of the California scene, for example, has been impressive. That helped the U.S. scene-and in some ways the global scene-develop. Particularly because of the inroads the West Coast bands made in building up local scenes and then building new touring lanes while also building back some old touring lanes that had deteriorated in reggae. This all helped support the genre overall.

Speaking of West Coast bands, you recently released Rebelution’s new album, In the Moment. We’ve been loving it; we’ve been spinning it. There are so many great songs on that album. I was curious, how was the album creation process different than the other albums you’ve done, because of COVID? How did that process work?

Well, you would want to talk to Eric, the main songwriter, and the rest of the band about that. From our standpoint, the process was generally not that different. The band has usually put out a new album every two years. They are professionals and consistent in releasing new music and touring.

Again, I can’t speak for the band, but COVID did knock off the two-year cycle they had been on for albums since 2018 is when Free Rein came out.  Obviously, everyone, in their own way, has been impacted by COVID and I’m sure the writing on In the Moment was affected as well. But in the end, the process has felt pretty similar to past albums.

For a lot of the artists on our roster, there were some logistical challenges in terms of getting band members together to write. There have been a lot of Zoom sessions and rushed in-person meetings when lockdowns eased up.  For some, this period had been a time to consider if it is worth continuing or maybe just a time to reset, but for most of them, it has also been a time for a much-needed break, to spend time at home, with family, etc.  It’s of course also been a time for heavy financial stress and at times hardship.

From the public perspective, I’m hopeful that coming out of this fans are going to have a new appreciation for what it takes to be a touring musician, to drive through the night to make a gig, and everything else it takes to hit the road and play live for fans. This time off will hopefully be good for the artists, especially the ones that tour a lot. An opportunity to come back rejuvenated.  And I hope the fans will be supportive in a new way as well.

Rebelution’s rescheduled tour is selling faster than ever and many of our artists have live shows on the books again. Everyone is psyched to get back. I’m hopeful. People have still been very engaged in music during COVID, just in different ways, so we should be in good shape going forward.  Fingers and toes crossed.

One of the things I love about your label is your artist base is truly global. You’ve got artists from the UK, Jamaica, the States, New Zealand, Marcus Gad from French Polynesia. What do you look for in bringing an artist into your family?

Yeah, being based in New York, we’ve always worked with local talent, Jamaican artists and have been European-facing as well. My mom is from England, so I’m familiar with going back and forth to the UK and one of my partners is half-French as well so we had ties to Europe before we started the label. My dad’s family is from St. Kitts, so we had the Caribbean connection as well.  

But beyond these initial international connections, we really just followed where our fans were. Italy, France, and the UK had a lot of love for the early music we were putting out beyond the fanbase we were building in the US and Jamaica. As we were building up their international markets we were also getting exposed to more and more international artists.

Back home, besides The Easy Star All-Stars, which was made up of a mix of Jamaicans and Americans, John Brown’s Body, was our first U.S. band that we signed. Through them, we linked up with The Black Seeds from New Zealand, which expanded our roster to Oceania.   We’ve never been the type of label to be out there trying to poach artists or aggressively working A&R. Rather, it’s always been a family kind of thing. Artists from our roster will turn us onto someone by playing their music, like in the case of The Black Seeds, or from touring with another band, and then the link is made and we come on board. It’s been building blocks towards creating a community and family. Artists start talking to other artists about us and vice versa, it’s organic.

In the past, within the core scene, there has been a narrowly defined presentation associated with reggae. People thought you either had to copy a Jamaican or a Rasta to play reggae if you were not one yourself.

The emergence of the West Coast scene reconfigured the norms of the scene. They were identifying with Sublime and what they were growing up with more than just the artists coming out of Jamaica. They weren’t singing about Jamaica, but about their local scene. And when you scratched the surface, this was also happening in many other countries as well. Like The Skints coming up in the UK, they were singing about London. Some people might have a lot to say about “traditional reggae,” and the value and importance of understanding and holding on to those traditions.  But if you look at any genre, this pollination happens. You can discuss the negatives and positives around it, but you can’t deny that this is a natural evolution that happens with any and every genre.  

No genre can move forward without evolution and transformation. It’s been interesting to see the global progression of reggae and how, what was happening in California, was also happening in the UK, New Zealand, and all over the world.

In the end, we look for artists who are serious about their music, create music that we think is good, and are people we feel we can work with. Another important factor is management and the support team in general. For the relationship to really work, there should be a dedicated and professional artist we can help grow and a good team around them. Management is a critical part of that team. You’ve got to let an artist be an artist and a good manager can be critical in facilitating that.

I think that mindset and the way you build the Easy Star family goes to show in your artist base, and that’s something we respect about your label. All of your artists are quality and their sounds are wide-ranging within reggae.

Reggae gets overly simplified and dumbed down for the average listener. If you look at our roster, we have a pretty eclectic range of styles under the reggae umbrella. We’ve built this diversity within the lineup and were very purposeful about it. Passafire and John’s Brown Body are completely different than Ticklah or Victor Rice. The Skints are so different than Jesse Royal and they all fit into their own special lanes. I think it’s wonderful and fascinating to see the many different lanes within a genre.

I like that on top of that you have some artists that are bringing that hip-hop sound to it as well. I’m especially thinking of The Late Ones.

Yes, for sure! With The Late Ones and Fyah Roiall, we are bringing different elements of hip hop and trap into the mix.    I do want to say that we wish we had more female artists on our roster. We are challenging ourselves to be more proactive and are actively working to improve this area. We were excited to put out some singles with Lila Iké and Sevana recently and are looking to continue to add more female artists into the mix.

It’s great that you’re keeping that in mind and taking steps to round out the roster. You kind of touched on it a little bit, but I was wondering as someone who is heading a label and dealing with a lot of the PR and distribution, do you have any advice for up-and-coming artists or managers? Something that you wish you had known when you started?

Well, it seems basic, but ask as many questions as possible. That’s what we did coming into the music industry with no formal training. Lean into that. There’s so much to know. We are still learning every day.

That point is more important now than ever where changes in marketing happen so rapidly.  When we started in 1996, the marketing campaigns of our first seven or eight years stayed relatively the same from release to release. At the time, we were still working in the traditional models of marketing. You’d make tweaks and change things here and there depending on the project; like maybe you’d have more of a radio campaign versus a PR campaign in some cases or you could do some things differently depending on the artist’s size and the budget you had to work with. But now marketing changes and turns over itself at a much faster rate.  You have to consistently ask new questions along the way to keep pace.  Everything is much more dynamic, with social media, we were immersed in Myspace at one point and even Friendster before that, then quickly had to transition to Facebook, to Instagram, TikTok, and on and on.  

Besides the marketing changes, on the format side, we have moved through several formats over a relatively short period of time as well.  The transition from physical and the CD era to downloads was swift and quickly followed by the transition to streaming. And each format has its own set of variables to get your head around.  So, yeah, you need to ask more questions now than before.  

And while you are asking as many questions as possible, roll your sleeves up, put your head down, stick with it and be consistent, and be true to your core product.   We dabble in management when needed, we were doing some content creation in the beginning, we have promoted and produced live shows and DJ parties, but we have primarily stayed in the lane of a regular label so we can stay focused on doing a really good job at that. The advice I have for artists and managers is to stay focused on your core product, whatever that is.

Does Easy Star work with the artists on your roster in one studio or multiple depending on their location?

My partner Michael is our in-house music director and producer. He has his studio. It’s not a commercial studio. There are three or four studios that we work with in Brooklyn. Our artists are spread across the world and are usually working with their studios as well.

Back in the day, we put out two or three releases a year. We put out around ten plus now, plus a lot of singles, which is a lot for a boutique label, so we try to keep focused on our direct mission of putting out releases as opposed to running a studio or other ventures.

What new releases do we have to look forward to?

We have a great release coming up by JonQuan. He’s the front man from Buddha Council, out of the southeast reggae scene, and the release is a beautiful compilation of original compositions paired up with ten veteran and emerging artists. We will be dropping the first singles in the coming weeks.  

We’re going to release the debut solo album from Kirsty Rock, who is part of the Easy Star All-Stars. She released one single last year and we will be dropping another one in advance of the album in the fall. The Late Ones full-length album is coming this fall with another single and video in September. The Green’s new album is also coming up this fall with several new singles and a video and The Black Seeds will have a new album in the fall.

Looking ahead to 2022, the next tribute album by the Easy Star All-Stars will be released.

For up-and-coming artists, do you think it’s smart to put out singles at first, an EP, an album, or does it just depend?

There’s no one way to do something, so it does depend. You hear people say like content is king and you must put out a single each and every week. We don’t usually do that.

Playing the singles game with the Spotify algorithm is important to get music out there and to have a continual flow of content and push up your monthly listeners. And if you’re a new artist that doesn’t have as big of a following, it’s important it have features on those singles because then you can get into the featured artists’ release radar.

But if you look at our roster, the artists that have the biggest fanbases still stick to a two to three-year album cycle. We still believe in that approach, with singles leading up to an album’s release. It can even be a one-year album cycle for some artists, but the full-length release is still an important marketing event to build a campaign around. 

New artists should release singles, but releasing an EP, or album is not just for steams, it’s putting your resume out there online. People can find this reference point that helps define your career in a different way than singles do. It gives fans something to focus on and check you out in a fuller way.

Jesse Royal is a good example. He had a huge hit with Modern Day Judas along with several other big singles. But once he released his first album, Lily of da Valley, you could see the pivot point in his career, which has only gone through another impressive pivot point with the release of his sophomore album Royal.