(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
The Recording Industry Association of Jamaica/RIAJam has secured initial funding to establish a recording academy to serve the international reggae music industry in the staging of an annual Reggae Music Awards event. The first awards event is planned for 2007 in Jamaica. The proposed academy will follow in some respects the model of the Recording Academy for the Grammys and will see nominees selected and judged by persons involved in the making of the music, such as singers, songwriters, producers, engineers and musicians.
The categories for the awards will be split into two main segments: an international segment for nominees from around the world and a local segment for Jamaican based nominees. The Recording Industry Association of Jamaica is a two-year-old entity established with more than 25 of the main music producers and recording studio involved in reggae music production listed as members. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
