Demystifying the criteria for COTT awards

It is written in response to Gregory Cockburn’s letter to the editor published in the Newsday (11/7/06 p 11) where he raised the issue of COTT’s honouring of works produced in the years 2005 and 2006.

COTT’s annual music awards ceremony is an event which seeks to reward those who have excelled in the music industry locally. This measurement is based exclusively on royalties earned in a specified period. That collective period for the purposes of the 2006 awards was January 2005 to June 2006 and December 2005 to August 2006.

Essentially, deliberations considered songs registered prior to July 1, 2006, and involved the calculation of broadcast logs, playlists, foreign royalty statements and recording statements supplied to COTT for January 2005 to June 2006 and royalty distributions between December 2005 and August 2006.

Let me state that the popularity of a composition has its bearing on nominees and winners only where broadcast logs are supplied to COTT consistently as evidence of actual airplay. Our experience has been that broadcasters do not necessarily rank broadcast logs as important to their daily output. As well, songwriters are guilty of not supplying play-lists for performances of their songs.

Notably, due to the early completion of Carnival royalty distributions for the first time compositions registered for Carnival of the current year were in the reckoning. Therefore, 2006 compositions were included in this year’s nominations for the categories Calypso of the Year, Groovy Soca of the Year, Ragga Soca of the Year, Chutney Soca of the Year and Pan Song of the Year.

While Shurwayne Win-chester’s “Dead or Alive” was released for Carnival 2005, that song led overall in royalties earned for the collective period and was declared Song of the Year. Conversely, Groovy Soca of the Year “Don’t Stop,” released for Carnival 2006, was the leading revenue earner for the collective period.

Francisca Allard’s “Yo Me Voy De Paranda” registered in 1992, was the winning composition Parang of the Year. Due mainly to a lack of new compositions of traditional parang and also the limited registration of these works, this category was not restricted to a registration period but based on overall earnings in the collective period.

In her acceptance speech, Allard appealed to paranderos to compose and to register new works and lamented the fact that parang is the “least rotated art-form on the radio” and also “parang artistes get the least amount of money” in royalty distribution. COTT remains committed to the promotion and development of parang and continuously includes this category even without the benefit of recent works in its repertoire.

To address the issue of the Classic of the Year, we must note the three exceptions to the deciding process as follows:

• The Treasured Licensee of the Year, which is conferred for exemplary compliance, and which as awarded to Republic Bank Ltd. This acknowledgment is mainly to honour and reward corporate citizens who show appreciation for and understanding of the value of music to their business by promptly paying their annual COTT licence for use of music on their premises.

• The Golden Achievement Award which goes to a long-standing COTT member whose music is still active, which was copped by Leroy Calliste, the “Black Stalin,” and

• The Classic of the Year Award, where nominees are selected on the basis of works released ten years or more ago (prior to 1996) that are still active and for which recognition went to Colin Lucas for his composition “Dollar, Dollar.” Basically, in that category Lucas’ composition was the top earner over Sparrow’s “Jean and Dinah” and Black Stalin’s “Feelin to Party.” In 2007, this award would consider works released prior to 1997.

In light of the foregoing, Spoiler’s “Bedbug” would not qualify for the Calypso of the Year but can certainly be considered for Classic of the Year 2007 providing Spoiler’s works are registered with COTT and that it is the leading royalty earner among compositions released prior to 1997.

LUTALO MASIMBA (“Brother Resistance”) President, COTT