A capacity audience of over 1,000 patrons was on hand to witness the historic event, joined by the dapperly dressed Prime Minster of Barbados, the Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur (the event’s patron), Minister of Commerce Sen. The Hon. Lynette Eastmond, then Minister of State Sen. The Hon. John Williams and acting Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Tony Layne. Following the event, a glowing review from the lips of the Prime Minister himself was released in the press, speaking of how pleased he was at the event’s professionalism and magnitude, and the positive impact it will have on the development of Barbados’ cultural industries.

Tourist Attraction

The 2006 BMAs proved to be a pull factor for visitors to the island, as approximately 140 foreign visitors flew into Barbados especially for the event, based on correspondence received before and after the show. This was an eye-opening occurance, as the event was not marketed to international media in 2006, yet, through their information sources on the internet, they came from all over the World to cover the debut of the BMAs. Foreign media and industry-related companies present included MTV Tempo, the BBC, VP Records, Universal Records and key media houses from Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia, New York, Miami, London, Germany and South Africa. Representatives of U.S. mega-label Def Jam were so supportive of the event, that their delegation alone occupied six rooms at South Beach Resort and four rooms at the Barbados Hilton, and their team of twelve included that label’s senior Vice President. U.S. multi-platinum recording star and actor in the hit series of Madea stage plays “Little G”, along with Charles Loos of Belgium, and regional C.E.O. of Digicel Caribbean Kevin White were among special presenters at the event.

Creating Opportunities

The Barbados Music Awards, a massive undertaking geared at bringing to the forefront the public’s awareness the quality of Barbados’ musical output, the need to support local artistes through the purchase of authentic records, and the need for radio to embrace and promote the music of our own as apposed to filling their play-lists with the music of foreign acts, has taken its place as one of the key components for Barbados’ continued cultural development. The event achieved all of its objectives, as in addition, one of its featured performers, Dwayne Husbands, who was showcased that night, benefited from the exposure he received to record a duet with Rihanna on her multi-million-selling sophomore album A Girl Like Me. Other performers saw an increase in their international profile, and the award-winners were hailed by major media houses such as the Miami Herald, BBC Radio, Jamaica Gleaner, Trinidad Guardian, Express and MTV Tempo among many others. In the weeks leading up to the event, local radio and television were dominated with interviews and the music of nominees and awardees alike. This abundance of local music on local radio in this non-Crop Over period should reflect well on the royalty payments made to all involved in the future. The event also created opportunities for local fashion designers, who not only got the chance to make money, but also to show Barbados and the rest of the world what they could do, and by all reports their designs were world-class! Among others who received the opportunity to generate marketing and employment opportunities as a result of the event were stage, lighting and stage management company DB Productions, which did an amazing job, Merville Lynch Productions which added that technical edge to the event with its massive projection screens and eye-catching graphics, various limousine companies, Hanschell Inniss which supplied the beverages for the V.I.P. lounge and many others.

Corporate Barbados’ Response

Numerous major private sector companies joined the Government of Barbados and the Timeless Barbados Entertainment Agency in promoting and financing the Barbados Music Awards. An event of this magnitude, with a tremendous budget, needs all of the financial support it can muster. We must give thanks to the private sector, which responded to our call and really supported the event. The 2007 edition will carry a budget of over a half of a million dollars, and will be a production which could be admired by anyone from anywhere in any corner of the earth, based on current plans. There can be no question of the benefits sponsors received from being associated with the event, as based on the cost of advertising fully sponsored by Barbados’ very supportive media alone, sponsors received $25,000 in television and radio ads and $100,000 in print media advertising. This plus the added exposure created by the event’s three-hour telecast, which featured the sponsors mentioned on three separate occasions as a group, added to the sponsors who made presentations live on stage at the event brings the estimated value of being associated with the Barbados Music Awards as a sponsor clearly in excess of $ 250,000 in hard, cold advertising dollars. We, the directors of the Barbados Music Awards, need corporate Barbados to join hand in hand with us, as we reward our own, and increase Barbados’ profile as a nation of excellence.