The future of the Reggae Academy Awards

RIAJam acting chairman, Frankie Campbell, explains why the awards will not be held this year and what plans are in place.

On February 24, 2008 the first Reggae Academy Awards show was presented by the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RIAJam) at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. The event was designed to celebrate and recognise creative excellence within the local and international Reggae music fraternity, with the ultimate objective being the production and distribution of a first class programme for TV broadcast.

Despite significant challenges, we the members of the RIAJam board of directors are very pleased with the accomplishment of what has been described by industry participants and members of the public as a stellar awards show of a quality never before witnessed in Jamaica. We are also very proud of the resultant three-hour TV programme that has been produced.

As we review our performance and prepare for the future of this project, we would like to extend our commendation to Josef Bogdanovich for his foresight and dedication to the development of the awards project.

Due to his very significant commitments, including time, expertise and monetary resources, the production of the first Reggae Academy Awards was a major success. We would also like to pay special tribute to the members of the RIAJam board of directors, as well as members of the Reggae Academy Steering Committee and Academy chairman Lloyd Stanbury for their leadership and hard work in spearheading the project planning activities.

The support and input of Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange as well as our sponsors is also acknowledged. A very big thanks must also go out to the many technical and creative service providers, including performing artistes and members of the reggae music fraternity, who worked hard and cooperated to make the 2008 Reggae Academy Awards show a success.

Since the staging of the show in February tremendous efforts have been expended locally and internationally to secure international TV distribution deals as well as sponsorship funding to support the continued presentation of this event in the coming years. Although reactions to the show and TV programme have been very positive, the project has so far not attracted the anticipated corporate sponsorship,

government support, or TV distribution. It is the view of the RIAJam board that in order to move forward with this project there is the need for a much greater degree of partnership and cooperation at all levels. In this regard we have been engaged recently in dialogue with project investor and

executive producer Josef Bogdanovich and Minister Grange with a view to arriving at solutions to strengthen and sustain this very important project. This statement is being issued to make the local and international public aware of the project's status, a project in which they have clearly demonstrated tremendous interest.

Despite all our efforts, the board of RIAJam has had to come to grips with some clear realities, which bear adversely upon the possibility of staging the Reggae Academy Awards show in February 2009. Whilst there have been expressions of interest from various quarters, RIAJam is faced with the hard and cold reality that, with just a few weeks to go before February 2009, there is still no firm commitment of the necessary financial resources for the planning and staging of the show.

In light of the above circumstances we have taken the decision to postpone the staging of the Reggae Academy Awards show to a later date in 2009 to be announced. Our decision to postpone the staging of this marquee event is a difficult one, but is hinged upon practical considerations of, unavailability of financial resources, risk and institutional credibility.

RIAJam is still overwhelmingly committed to the staging of future presentations of the Reggae Academy Awards. We also remain committed to the observation and support of February as Reggae Month. In this regard we have commenced dialogue with project investor Josef

Bogdanovich and Minister Grange to explore the possibility of including a special screening of the Reggae Academy Awards TV show as a part of the Reggae Film Festival in February 2009. This plan B will allow us to keep the Reggae Academy Awards alive during the next Reggae Month celebrations and also provide the opportunity to seek further support for the future staging of the awards show.

We look forward to the continued support of the music industry as well as the local and international media as we work together to preserve and sustain this important venture.