by David Hamilton
There is a rumour going around that there may be no soca monarch next year. While it’s almost assuredly fake news I can safely say that despite it’s faults, that development would not be a good one for the T+T music industry. I believe that where art is concerned, music competitions get an overly bad rep. Yes there are negatives – insular music creation, back-stabbing, exploitation of artistes by greedy concert promoters. But there are a lot of positives as well. Competition in music can be good.
GOOD FOR UPCOMING ARTISTES
Getting access to platforms especially in the Soca industry is difficult. You ever stand up in a fete when the host announces a new artiste? What do you do? Groan right? “Oh gosh, me eh able with this now nah”. “Geh offf de staaaaage”. Artistes need a stage where they can introduce their talent to an interestedaudience. Competitions provide that.
Continuing with Soca as the microcosm, a lot of the new artistes making waves came out of the Synergy Soca Star program. Voice, Olatunji and Preedy to name a few. Keegan Taylor who currently pens smash hits for numerous artistes was a runner up in the second edition. Umi Marcano who had many soca hits and was part of Machel’s band Xtatic won the competition that same year. And Fireball who scored a number one hit in Europe with “What I Want” won the first edition of Soca Star.
Would these artistes have made the same impact? I would say unlikely. The the regimen of practice, the prize money if they won and most importantly, the contacts they made during the competition no doubt helped a lot in their development.
FINANCIAL GAIN
Getting bookings is the lifeblood of any artiste, especially in this climate. Music sales have dwindled. The popularity of streaming has meant that the huge profits enjoyed in CD-era may be a thing of the past. As much as you treasure your artistic integrity, it doesn’t fill your stomach as effectively as a vita loaf, which costs money.
Replies