By Paul A. Reid,
Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
ACCORDING TO chairman, Robert Russell, Reggae SumFest 2001 should be the best ever.
"It will be the most streamlined in the history of the music festival. " He said.
With the start of the festival only four months away, Mr. Russell believes the early start will help his organisation tremendously.
Mr. Russell also told The Gleaner, that they were already in negotiations with top overseas artistes, wooing sponsors as well as continuing talks with American based entertainment companies, including Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Def Jam Productions about the beaming of the show.
"Talks with BET began last year and if the negotiations are completed in time for this year's festival, it would mean additional revenue for the production company as well as the show being aired internationally via Pay-Per-View," he said.
Mr. Russell also said: work has already begun with Def Jam since last year's festival. He said, the New York-based company loaned them a jet, to transported rap artiste Jay-Z, after they had difficulties getting seats on commercial airlines. It was also disclosed, that Mr. Russell and director, Johnny Gourzong would leave soon for New York to have discussions with directors of both companies.
While not giving away details about the number of artistes courted so far, Mr. Russell admitted they had discussions with Shaggy last weekend. He added they were also hoping to meet with the handlers of Sade, who also had a recent big hit with her first album in eight years Lovers Rock.
Plans are in the pipeline for staging three nights of the show at Catherine Hall complex. Last year's budget was around $35 Million and it is estimated to remain the same this year. The committee is still working on reducing the number of artistes to appear on the shows.
Meanwhile, Mr Russell is hoping for a reduction in the price for rental of the venue, which was set at 3 million dollars per night last year.
