By Mia Anthony
(Intern with the Guyana Media and Communication Academy)
Kross Kolor Studios has won a grant which will enable teenagers who wish to be a part of the music industry in Guyana, the chance to showcase their talents and to monetize their work.
In an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Burchmore Simon, owner and founder of Kross Kolor Records said that with the UNESCO grant, he can do more for music and culture and a part of that would include bringing new faces with potential and a fresher sound to the forefront; it is what he hopes to achieve with the training grant. The size of the grant was not disclosed.
“Winning [the grant] was not easy, being picked among 300 other applicants and being among the final 30 was quite an honour”, he said.
Since the inception of Kross Kolor records 20 years ago, Simon has produced many beats and written many songs, some of which still can be heard to this day on the radio or television.
The grant is aimed at training youths who are in school and teaching them among other things, the art of recording and to set up their own studios.
The training is open to students of all secondary schools. Interested persons can apply to do a test and once the results match the criteria set out by Kross Kolor, the successful applicants in the top 20 will be trained.
After being trained and evaluated, only the top six will have their work sent out to the radio and television media entities.
The top six will also be rewarded with their own personal recording studio set up inclusive of all equipment and a producing contract which will enable them to have the beats they produce licensed through Kross Kolor Records so that they can earn additional income.
They will also have their work copyrighted so that they can earn money when their beats are used on television and radio.
Apart from boosting Guyanese talent, Simon has not only worked with well-known artistes such as Vanilla, Jumo, and Adrian Dutchin, but Guyana’s musical industry as a whole. He noted that the next generation of producers entering the market are doing so at an advantage because of technological advancements, and as such, Kross Kolor has upgraded its equipment to allow for better and smoother production of content
Simon also had a word of advice for the youths. “I have been in this business my whole life, I started playing piano at the age of 6 and still to this day along with other music related things being consistent and believing in yourself, also have a sense of direction and get educated. It adds value to you and to others around you”, he said.
He also encouraged them to display compassion and gratitude.
Kross Kolor got the grant under the Creative Caribbean project which aims to better the economic conditions of creatives, a sector which provides millions in revenue and in which thousands of people find full time and part time work.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Caribbean Community Secretariat and The University of the West Indies are implementing the project ‘Creative Caribbean – An Ecosystem of “Play” for Growth and Development.’
The 15 Caribbean countries identified for implementation will benefit from this injection of support into the CCI ecosystem: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Creative Caribbean project is being implemented over forty months and is expected to end in 2024.
