Barbados is scrapping its Soca Monarch competition.
Instead, a world-class soca concert will be held on August 6 during the Crop Over season to showcase the best songs of the season, from top artistes and up and coming singers.
Speaking at the launch of Crop Over 2023 on Friday, Chief executive officer of the National Cultural Foundation Carol Roberts-Reifer said a competition no longer served the industry.
“A thriving industry cannot be realised by seasonal offerings and songs written for competition,” she said.
She said the NCF and the relevant stakeholders are in agreement that the soca monarch competition model no longer benefits the soca artistes in pursuing a sustainable livelihood.
She said they would embark on a joint project to help artistes with the production of soca tunes that could hold their own anywhere, assist with distribution and marketing as well as merchandising and training in songwriting among other initiatives.
The announcement from Barbados comes as Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival closed without its signature Soca Monarch competition.
The competition was cancelled this year due to insufficient funding.
