JaRIA grows Honour Awards with new ‘Album of the Year’ category

Artistes and producers within the Jamaican music industry now have a new award category that will give their projects even more validation and promotion. The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) has introduced an Album of the Year category for its 2023 Honours Awards, a move which it says fits snugly into the organisation’s expansion plans.

“JaRIA is constantly seeking ways to improve on its offerings to the industry and growing the awards show is one such way. Last year we added the Diamond Jubilee Awards where we celebrated icons Bob Marley, Ms Lou and Marcus Garvey for their contribution to Jamaican culture. The awards have come of age and we should therefore expand to celebrate bodies of contemporary work, hence this category,” Mary Isaacs, JaRIA director and chairperson of the Selection Committee, said.

The announcement of the new award was made on February 26, and Isaacs noted that although feedback has so far been good “it could be better”. She is hoping that as the word gets out the industry’s response will be “overwhelming”.

The Album of the Year will be presented to a vocal or instrumental work in three sections – reggae, dancehall and gospel – in any Jamaican genre, whether mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dancehall or dub. According to the rules, “the albums must be commercially released (locally or internationally) and available for purchase from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year (2022) through stand-alone or audio-only streaming platforms and free from any publicly known copyright infringement claims”.

Additionally, to be eligible in a specific category, it must contain 60 per cent playing time of a Jamaican genre, be submitted as a solo, duo, group or collaborative work and must contain at least five different tracks (different songs, not different mixes) for a total playing time of at least 30 minutes.

At the launch event last month, Chairman Ewan Simpson gave the JaRIA Honour Awards top marks.

“It is still the best and longest reigning awards event in Jamaica,” Simpson told attendees, adding that it provided an opportunity “to celebrate ourselves ... what we have given to ourselves and the world is unmatched”.

Isaacs shared that the awards have been fully embraced by the local industry and that several Jamaican industry icons have referred to it as their Grammy Awards.

“The scrutiny and care we take in award selection is testament to the value we at JaRIA place in the awards and we appreciate the fact that the industry finds legitimacy and value in the awards,” Isaacs stated.

Reflecting on JaRIA’s activities for Reggae Month last February, Isaacs noted that there were many successes, among them the song competition which unearthed very strong talent, including up-and-coming act, VBRTNS.

“[He is] a talent in the diaspora, of Jamaican roots, who was able to visit with us and perform for the first time on local soil. We were also able to strengthen the celebratory and connection in the diaspora through our collaboration with [reggae band] Inner Circle for Reggae Month Miami. We also finally celebrated Reggae Wednesdays in Montego Bay at Harmony Beach Park as part of a larger partnership with the Urban Development Corporation that also saw us presenting concerts for the month at Festival Marketplace on the Kingston Waterfront as well as the world famous Dunn’s River Falls and Park,” the Selection Committee chair said.

Isaacs added, “Our partnership with PBCJ resulted in four excellent Reggae Open University programmes which have given us content on which we can expand. For next year’s staging and in fact for the rest of this calendar year, we intend to significantly improve our marketing and communications as well as increase opportunities for networking within the industry and with wider corporate interests.”

With the introduction of the new award, JaRIA has increased its awards roster to 31 in 19 categories.

Albums must be submitted to JaRIA’s website at www.jariaentertainment.com by the deadline date of March 8, at 11:59 p.m. est. There is a non-refundable fee of US$30.00 (a 50 per cent discount is offered to paid up and lifetime JaRIA members).

Isaacs emphasised that upon submission, there is a screening process to ensure that all works are placed in their proper category and the lyrical content is appropriate. She explained that the screening will be conducted by the Selection Committee, who votes by secret ballot, using a rubric system for musical arrangement, production and lyrical content (using the Broadcast Commission music policy suited for free to air radio guided by the Government of Jamaica).

The top five albums in each section will be identified as the nominees to move to the final voting stage done by eligible and lifetime members of JaRIA via the website.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Gala on Easter Monday, April 10.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com