Caribbean Music Expo Restuctured

The third annual Caribbean Music Expo will be held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica from March 20 to 24, 2002. This time around the CME will be presented by a restructured entity now named Caribbean Music Expo Limited.
Caribbean Music Expo Limited has been established as a non-profit corporation and has acquired all assets and liabilities of the former Caribbean Music Expo Limited. There is an expanded board of directors as international media consultant Josanne Leonard of Trinidad, Clyde McKenzie of Shocking Vibes and Andrea Davis of the International Reggae Day join original directors, Lloyd Stanbury, Sharon Burke, Gary Sinclair and Jimmy Cozier.
Caribbean Music Expo’s Chairman, Lloyd Stanbury, explained that the restructuring exercise will better enable the organizers to carry out the general mandate of CME which is to act as a tool for national and regional music industry development. The focus of the CME is to create opportunities for performers, music producers, music media representatives, technical personnel and management representatives to improve their skills and their capacity to compete in the global market through the provision of information, advice, and opportunities for creative and business collaborations. The annual international Expo will be the flagship activity of the organization but there are plans to get involved in periodic training workshops between the staging of each Expo.

According to Stanbury, as a non-profit entity the organization will be better able to attract the funding necessary for its industry and sector development and initiatives. To date, CME has received tremendous support from the Government of Jamaica through its agencies, Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) as well as local and overseas private sector entities such as Cable & Wireless Jamaica, Red Stripe, (V.P. Records), Island Outpost, City Of Kingston Cooperative Credit Union/Quick Cash, RAS Records, Air Jamaica, BWIA International Airways and the Renaissance Jamaica Grande. The technical and financial support of the Dutch based International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) has also been secured by CME through a technical assistance agreement signed in May 2001. The directors of Caribbean Music Expo are now engaged in the process of securing additional sponsorship and technical support assistance for the event. The operations of the Expo will again be handled by a planning committee made up of CME directors and co-opted members of the local, regional and international music fraternity.