A new market is opening for dancehall/reggae in India.

Just days ago, Sean Paul wrapped three shows there. In December, Julian Marley is scheduled to perform in the country which has one of the world’s fastest

Top: Dancehall star Sean Paul (left) on stage in India recently. Bottom: Sean Paul and Prashant Kumar, director of Blue Note Entertainment.

growing economies.

Prashant Kumar, director of Blue Note Entertainment, the company responsible for bringing Sean Paul to India, has been in music promotion for six years.

He had never witnessed a reggae performance, even though he is a fan of the Grammy-winning deejay.

After a proposed tour of India by Sean Paul fell through five years ago, Kumar and his company decided to do something about it.

“Our team decided to get some reggae acts in India and try to do something different from what was happening here and we got Sean Paul. The tour of Sean Paul was very successful and people loved it,”

he told the Jamaica Observer   via e-mail.

Julian Marley heads to India in December

Sean Paul performed in the cities of Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai.

Kumar said his team believes in giving Indian audiences variety.

“Reggae was unexplored in India and we are glad that we got it here. India is a big market for all kinds of music and awareness about reggae will definitely help it grow in India,” he said.

Kumar stated he is trying to put together a reggae festival next year with the help of Jamaican promotion company, Headline Entertainment. He believes the music would be even more popular in his homeland if artists collaborated with Bollywood acts.

Bollywood is India’s thriving film sector which churns out countless movies annually. It is a multimillion-dollar industry.