Staff WriterWHAT: Former Executive Editor of The Source Magazine, music industry veteran Tracii McGregor will enlighten New York’s Jamaican community about barriers facing the Jamaican music industry on the international level at the next JAMPACT general meeting. Vice President and General Manager of reggae superstar Buju Banton’s newly formed label Gargamel Music, Inc., McGregor will address such issues as the persecution of Jamaican artists in the wake of several campaigns to ban Dancehall music, the current fight to get Buju’s travel restriction lifted in the United States, the difficulty in securing distribution deals as an independent reggae label, and the piracy of Jamaican music and culture by the mainstream.
“I am not in this industry to do things the way its always been done,” McGregor offers about her role in Jamaican music. “I am in it to change it.”
McGregor will be screening the video for Buju’s new single “Magic City” in addition to giving out copies of the single to the first 10 attendees to RSVP.
WHEN: Saturday, July 16th, 2005 at 2pm
WHERE: Columbia Business School—Room 307 Uris Hall @ 116th Street and Broadway
Take the 1 or 9 trains to 116th Street & Broadway
RSVP: Call 212.459.4390 or email [email protected]
Jamaica Impact, Inc. (“JAMPACT”) is a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization consisting of a diverse group of young Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica. Our philosophy is to use our collective energies, intelligence and resources, as an impetus for progress in Jamaica. Visit www.jampact.org to find out more.
Tracii McGregor’s Bio
Born in the United Kingdom, McGregor graduated from the University of California–Santa Cruz with a degree in Journalism in 1992. Shortly after moving to New York City in the mid-nineties, McGregor served as Director of Media Relations for hip-hop independent label Payday Records and Empire Management, working with such artists as Jeru the Damaja and Gangstarr. She joined The Source Magazine in 1996 where she rose in rank from the Lifestyle Editor to Executive Editor and eventually became Vice President of Content and Communications. Her documentary “Joe’s Gotta Go” was featured in the Urban World Film Festival. It chronicled a tumultuous mayoral election in Selma, Alabama in which political kingpin James Smitherman was ousted in favor of the city’s first black mayor, James Perkins. McGregor left The Source in October of 2004 to partner with Buju Banto n in launching Gargamel Music, Inc. She also runs a boutique consulting firm, Wildseed Communications, which focuses on content development, grassroots marketing, event management, and strategic public relations.
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