This week we do 10 question with Alex Morrissey, a young Jamaican entrepreneur and the creator & CEO of jamaicansmusic.com. Alex is passionate about Jamaican music of every genre and wants to be sure it is preserved online. He recently launched an online reggae mixer with virtual turntables and a mixing board allowing the average person to mix reggae music like a club/party DJ.
Where in Jamaica are you from?
– I was born in Kingston “under the clock”.What age did you know you would become an entrepreneur
– I knew from when I was 15 when built my first website and therefore at 16 I went to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study Industrial Design and during this time I started a small website company.
How did you get idea for an online reggae mixer?
– As an entrepreneur I was trying to think of new ways to present music. On the website mixed cds can be uploaded for users to download and have the option to make their own remix cd. This can be utilized by any user whether musically inclined or not.
Tell us how it works?
– Music is stored on a server which is linked to the mixer. When the mixer loads on the site it finds all the music and organizes it by album or riddim. The most recently added riddims are displayed first. You have the ability to search by song tite, riddim, artist or dj to find exact track you are looking for. Just like on actual turntable there are two decks, while one is playing you can drag a song from the que list to the inactive deck to be played next. You have the option to auto-play into the next track or mix manually. For those who prefer not to mix can chose from any of the 400 pre-mixed cd’s.
– The mixer has been used by over 8,000 users since its launch in less than 20 days. Those who have used it have given excellent feedback. Various users including well known dj’s have sent emails requesting additional features such as cue, scratch, “lik shot” and more sound effect.
– Not professionally but I dabble every now and then.
– Yes, ZJ Venus from Zip 103, I keep it locked Monday nights and early Sundays mornings when I’m working.Why did you start jamaicansmusic.com? What was the goal
– I couldn’t find a website that had all the Jamaican music I liked to listen to, so I decided to create this web portal. However music is not the only feature. In order to preserve Jamaican culture I have also included these sections so that users can access all this type of information with one click. Some of the most visited sections include the new Reggae and Dancehall tunes of the month, artists profiles, the riddim library, history and culture, live radio and music videos. Additionally artists can use this site to advertise and market themselves and any entertainment events to an audience of over 100,000 a month.
As a young man who appreciated all genre of music who is your favorite artist from the 1970’s, 1980’s,1990’s?
– 1970’s – Bob Marley (Turn Your Lights Down Low); 1980’s – Dennis Brown (his version of Fussing and Fighting) and 1990’s Nadine Sutherland (Action)
Who is you favorite all time artist?
– Bob Marley because of the universality of his music, it reaches people regardless of the year, time or century.
What other project are you working on that you can tell us about?
– Having launched the mixer, that was the biggest project for a time, so right now it is to promote the website to generate more fans and to get the mixer out there.
Thanks for the interview do you have any closing thoughts?.
– Thank you for the opportunity to spread my vision to your readers.
Source: Jamaicans.com
