The GAME

The Grand Awards & Music Expo (The GAME) 2006
This event is supported by the British Council (Sierra Leone)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION on Grand Awards and Music Expo 2006

According to the Founder – Lawrence Spencer-Coker – the “Grand Awards & Music Expo, the GAME, as it is affectionately called, will become the Grandest, annual celebration of Sierra Leonean music and showbiz.” His concept is simple; Expo to promote Sierra Leonean music; Awards to reward the music makers.

For 2006, deserving music industry practitioners have been awarded Grand Awards against FIFTEEN (15) unique categories.

The Grand Awards & Music Expo – the GAME - was conceived in coincidence with the visit of the Nigerian music group, P Square, to Sierra Leone. In early 2006, P Square arrived to perform on the same bill as the reggae star, Nasio Fontaine, from the Dominican Republic. However, in accepting the performance, P Square’s management ensured that their entire team could leave Sierra Leone in time to attend an awards show in London. As it turned out, the Awards event was conceptualized to reward Nigerian musicians. Hosting the show in London meant international exposure. From that thought and with extensive research and analysis was founded the GAME – an event designed to promote and reward Sierra Leonean musicians in front of and behind the MIC. As well as rewarding deserving artists, one of the key goals of The Grand Awards & Music Expo is to promote Sierra Leonean music and showbiz to the rest of the world.

The Music Expo itself is a great opportunity for music industry practitioners to showcase their products and services to an engaging audience. Over the coming years, the Grand Expos will feature music industry practitioners from all sectors of the industry. Interested exhibitors and presenters will include; Record Producers, Recording Studios, Graphic Artists, Record Labels, Promoters, Media Houses, Video Producers, Printers, CD Manufacturers, Electronic Equipment Distributors, Wholesalers and Retailers, CD Distributors, Website Designers, Airlines, Travel Agents, Hoteliers, and many, many more showbiz and related industry practitioners who wish to promote their products and services to our music industry targeted audience. Do you want to be a part of the GAME in 2007?

Register for the Expos or send a nomination, or request more info by sending an email to GrandAwards@gmail.com and benefit from a great networking event.

WINNING A GRAND AWARD
Winning a Grand Award will never be easy because winning is based on, one; being granted an official nomination and two; judging is based on international quality production standards. Thirdly, annual nominations are drawn from an international pool of eligible Sierra Leonean music industry practitioners, some with direct access to leading resources. The GAME has no geographic borders. Each Grand Awards Year is administered within a ‘Grand Nominations Window’, which runs from October 1st to September 30th in the following year. Therefore, works eligible for the 2006 Grand Awards were those released anywhere between October 1st 2005 and September 30th 2006.

Nominations were forwarded by people from all works of life, from anywhere in the world, and this will continue to be the case in 2007. In 2006, most nominations were sent via email. CDs, VCDs and DVDs were also posted to the Grand Awards Secretariat in Freetown. This event being organised by Supreme Inc should not preclude Supreme Artistes from active participation. Once received, nominations are painstakingly authenticated by the Grand Panel of Judges, - a team of twenty-four (24) men and women selected for their relevant music industry experience and professional integrity. Authentication of nominations by the Grand Panel of Judges is a two (2) stage process. The decisions from the Grand Panel are merit based and ensure the following:
1. nominated works qualify for the category in which they are nominated – e.g. reggae, hip hop, religious, etc., - no matter in which country the release was made
2. nominated persons are indeed Sierra Leonean[s], irrespective of current geographic location

For the 2006 Grand Awards voting was executed on two fronts.
1. Online Voting – 5% of total vote
2. Voting by the Grand Panel of Judges – 95% voting rights
95% voting rights! That’s why the Grand Awards is The Professionals Choice Awards.

The Grand Awards is unique in many other ways. For song related entries, winning a Grand Award DOES NOT necessarily reflect the popularity of the songs within Sierra Leone during the ‘Grand Nominations Window’. If songs were judged based primarily on popularity, it would incrementally disadvantage works as their release dates get closer to the end of the Grand Nominations Window. So, theoretically, works released on the 30th of September 2006 would be disadvantaged as it would have had a lot less time to gain popularity and the same work would not be eligible for the following years GAME event. This would contradict one of the core values of the concept: To promote international quality Sierra Leonean music. A founding principle of the Grand Awards is that works are to be judged relative to international quality production standards – not local popularity. The aim is to pursue an enabling environment that allows for the continuous improvement of Sierra Leonean music. Therefore, a key consideration for the Grand Panel of Judges is: “How do the songs and videos produced by Sierra Leonean practitioners stack up internationally?”

The Grand Awards Judging Criteria

OFFICIAL NOMINATIONS: To become eligible for a Grand Award nomination, the work must have been released during the applicable Grand Nominations Window. If this condition is met, then official Grand Awards nomination can be granted. This means that the work will be up for public voting and grading by the Grand Panel of Judges.
The GAME: Play the Game! To nominate a song based work, send a copy of the CD plus a completed Grand Awards Nomination Form and the applicable nominations fee. Some of the data requested on the form include, the bios of the Song Writer, Producer, Record Label, Management and Recording Artist. The category in which the song is being nominated for is also required. For the Video award, the Recording Artist and the Director’s bio are required. A nomination fee of $20USD applies for the GAME 2007!

As they say, you have to be in it to win it! Email GrandAwards@gmail.com for more details on Grand Awards nominations.


SONGS: Judging Criteria
1. Song Writing Quality – How well written the song is?
2. Production Quality – How well the Producer(s) performed?
3. Record Label Quality – How well did the Studio[s] and Engineer[s] perform?
4. Recording Performance Quality – How well did the Artist[s] perform in the Studio?
5. Management Quality is a key consideration. How quickly did they respond to correspondence, etc.?

The Grand Awards DO NOT judge songs based on local popularity because that would automatically exclude songs that have NOT been released in Sierra Leone or are NOT available in Sierra Leone, even though they may meet existing international quality thresholds. By limiting the impact of local popularity on the judging, the Grand Awards & Music Expo – the GAME - can realize one of its goals, which is to promote new, great, underground Sierra Leonean music. The Grand Awards can also tap into the widest pool of available Sierra Leonean talent and in turn promote their productions to a wide global audience. That does not mean we don’t figure Sierra Leone in our plans because we do expect eventual Grand Awards winners to become popular in Sierra Leone, provided they are marketed effectively in the Sierra Leonean environment.

STYLE: The Grand Awards are judged on ‘Style’ of music. Effectively, the feel and sound of the music makes up the style. There are distinct sounds associated with unique parts of the world. The industry is still striving for the conclusive Sierra Leonean sound. We are lending our support.

In addition to production quality, some categories have further unique characteristics. For instance, the winning Grand Hit Song reflects the song’s popularity in Sierra Leone during the Grand Nominations Window. Producer and Engineer Awards are awarded based on the portfolio of the practitioner during the nominations window. The DJ Award reflects the impact of the DJ on the Sierra Leone music scene both nationally and internationally during the window. Who has the DJ interviewed during the Grand Nominations Window? What events or issues have been championed by the DJ? Has the DJ broken any new songs to clubbers? The International Award reflects the direct impact of the artist/group in the Sierra Leone music community. Criteria for International Award includes: song popularity, live stage performance value, - so having performed live in Sierra Leone during the Grand Nominations Window is an advantage - quality of videos, other international achievements and awards, etc. These and more make up International Act award winners. There are two (2) Achievement Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award reflects: lifetime contribution to Sierra Leonean music both within and without Sierra Leone, and the Outstanding Achievement Award reflects a more short term impact that has led to an increase in the profile of Sierra Leonean music in the international scene. Bunny Mack won the Lifetime award and Patrice won the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2006.

At a minimum, the Video Award must reflect: production quality and entertainment value.

A short note about the Grand Panel of Judges: The Judging team is 24 strong. They must remain anonymous because of two main reasons:
1. The pool from which suitable Grand Awards Judges can be selected is small in number; therefore, it is not feasible to select a brand new 24 every year. Members will come and go but with all things being equal, the panel will remain constant over the years.
2. If the Judges become known to the public, their integrity and the integrity of the event can be compromised. Judges known and accessible to the public open doors to bribes both financial and non-financial. Anonymity offers a level of protection to all concerned.

Have a Supremely Grand 2007