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Bet J
Invites Record Labels To Attend St. Lucia Music Awards
NEW YORK (February 26, 2008) - St. Lucia's first
annual music awards may discover the next hot Caribbean
musician to make international headlines at its inaugural
event this weekend.
BET J, a part of BET Digital Networks and a subsidiary of
Viacom, Inc., has invited top American record label
executives to evaluate the talent to be featured at the
annual awards event, set for this Friday, February 29, 2008.
Produced at the popular Gaiety venue in the north of the
island by Accela Marketing in conjunction with the Cultural
Development Foundation, the Hewanorra Musical Society and
the St. Lucia Association of Musicians and Performers, the
Awards will be attended by senior executives from J Records,
Atlantic Records and Hidden Beach Recordings, along with a
number of celebrities including African American comedians
Chris Spencer and Anthony Anderson who will present awards.
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"The Caribbean is filled with exceptional talent. Some of
the smaller islands have fewer avenues for artistes who want
to be recognized internationally. We saw this event as a
perfect opportunity to utilize our company's assets and our
contacts in the US entertainment industry to make it an
invaluable experience for St. Lucian musicians and
performers," said St. Lucian national Cybelle Brown, BET J's
Vice President of Sales and Business Development, whose
network recently showcased the success of Grammy winning
Barbadian Rihanna after being discovered by record label
executive Evan Rogers while on vacation in Barbados.
"BET J has enjoyed a wonderful partnership with St. Lucia
for many years and it's just one of our many ways of giving
back to the destinations we work with," Brown added.
Agnes Francis, Managing Director of Accela Marketing,
explained that the objectives of the Awards include
recognizing songwriters, artistes and producers who have
rendered outstanding works and long-term contributions to
the national musical industry. "We are also on a mission to
establish quality standards for the music industry, to
encourage artistes who have potential for future
development, to raise the profile of St. Lucian performers
and the St. Lucian music industry - and of course, to
encourage the sale of St. Lucian music," she said.
"We are thrilled to introduce this new tradition to the
island," says Lorine Charles-St. Jules, the St. Lucia
Tourist Board's Director of Marketing for North America. "We
take great pride in our music and hope that the St. Lucia
Music Awards will increase confidence among our artistes and
increase visibility for St. Lucian music in the Caribbean
and throughout the world."
Awards will be presented in 23 categories, including soca,
calypso, country, reggae, gospel, jazz, R & B and folk
music. Coinciding with the island's independence anniversary
celebrations, the Awards ceremony will consist of a two-hour
show and include a 'Black Carpet' walkway.
BET J is a presenting sponsor of the 2008 St. Lucia Music
Awards.