The Ministry of Information and Culture decided to withdraw the Best Hip Hop music awards from the band "Pull-T Club" due to their song is a copycat from other country. For more information, read the news below:
A total of 14 awards will be presented at the first ever Lao Music Awards to be held on July 26 in Vientiane
Last Friday, a press conference was organised by Sengdara Communications at the Lao Plaza Hotel to announce the categories in which awards will be presented. The event was attended by the Acting Director General of the Fine Arts Department, Mr Xaysavath Singnamvong, and Vice President of the Lao Journalists' Association, Mr Somsanouk Mixay.
The press conference featured performances of the event's theme song performed in both pop and country music style and closed with a lucky draw for two air tickets to Malaysia .
The awards ceremony will promote the local music industry and acknowledge the wealth of quality Lao performers and their work...more info>>
“This will be the first ever event in Laos to recognise successful songs and artists, as well as those working behind the scenes especially song composers and producers,” said Sengdara Communications Director Viroun Sengdara.
“The awards ceremony will become an annual event and will help to raise the standard of the music industry in Laos to equal that of neighbouring countries,” Mr Viroun said.
“The establishment of the Lao Music Awards is in accordance with the government's policy to promote art and culture.”
Awards will be presented in 14 categories, including prizes for the best album, song, group, new artist, male and female artist, most popular artist and country or folk artist of the year.
Trophies will also be given for the best traditional Lao, pop, rock and hip-hop artists of the year. The best producer and composer of the year will also be honoured.
Winners in each category will receive a uniquely designed vintage record player or gramophone incorporating the dok champa (frangipani), the Lao national flower.
“Applications for the awards are open to all Lao artists. Entries will be accepted until May 15. A judging panel and the general public will then spend 10 days selecting the winners,” said Head of Office of Sengdara Communications, Mr Somsack Khandavong.
“A judging panel together with public votes will select four finalists in each category to appear at the awards ceremony, as well as selecting the winners on the night.
Members of the public can vote by sending an SMS through the Tigo network and by completing competition details on specially marked products offered by event sponsors,” Mr Somsack said.
The 2008 Lao Music Awards will be held at the National Culture Hall and will be broadcast live on Lao TV channels. People can obtain tickets to the event by purchasing specially marked products offered by event sponsors and following instructions on the packaging to receive tickets.
Photo: An artist's 3D depiction of the Lao Music Awards prize.
The first ever Lao Music Awards will be held this summer in the capital, to promote the work of the local music industry and to acknowledge the wealth of quality Lao songs, singers and songwriters.
Sengdara Communications will work closely with the Ministry of Information and Culture to organise the first ever Lao Music Awards.
“We will present awards for our best songs and artists, as well as those working behind the scenes, during this, the first annual music awards in Laos,” Sengdara Communications Creator, Mr Vannasy Phonchanheuang, said yesterday...read more
“Winners will each receive a unique prize combining traditional design with an international flair – a vintage record player or gramophone, combined with a dok champa (the Lao national flower),” Mr Vannasy explained.
The Lao music industry has grown significantly in recent years. While just a decade ago listeners could hear only traditional folk songs and country music, today the burgeoning industry has given birth to many other genres, including pop, rock, r&b, hip-hop and dance.
“The award will be a catalyst for further development of the Lao music scene, because it will encourage artists and record companies to produce quality music, both in traditional genres and more contemporary styles,” the Acting Director General of the Fine Art Department, Mr Xaysavath Singnamvong, said.
Through the continued support of the government and private sectors, the local music industry continues to grow in leaps and bounds, he noted.
“There are still, however, only a few people who consider music to be their main career. This is due to a lack of support and national acknowledgement. The announcement of the 2008 Lao Music Awards is therefore an historic event,” he said.
Mr Vannasy added that the event aims to target all Lao singers, artists and composers, to encourage the development of musical talent to its fullest degree and raise the stature of musicians as valuable assets, and very real stars.
It is hoped the awards will not only encourage those already in the business to strive to produce the highest quality music for the enjoyment of fans, but also inspire anyone with the talent and aspirations to aim for stardom.
Awards will be given in 13 categories, including best album of the year; best song of the year; best male and female artists; best group or band; best traditional Lao song; best country, folk, pop, rock and hip-hop songs; and best producer and composer.
“We will have a press conference soon to announce further details, and to request that all recording companies send nominations for the awards,” Mr Vannasy said.
Lao sunlabob aims at making solar energy commercially viable yet affordable for the rural poor. It has succeeded in developing a commercially viable business model providing high quality solar PV systems to the rural poor at a price they can afford. The success and sustainability of the scheme place this project among 10 global projects shortlisted for the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, popularly known as the “Green Oscars”.
Former US vice-president Al Gore will present the awards and more than 2,00,000 pounds (Rs 17 lakhs approx) of prize money to the winners at the Royal Geographical Society here on June 21.
“The Ashden Awards are a powerful reminder that well designed and managed local sustainable energy initiatives can tackle climate change while meeting the needs of local communities. Tackling these issues simultaneously - in both rich and poor countries - is critical to addressing the twin planetary challenges of climate change and sustainable development,” Al Gore said.
Sunlabob Renewable Energies Ltd from Laos will compete with contenders from Bangladesh, China, Ghana, India, Nepal, Peru, Philippines and Tanzania for the five awards and the prize money earmarked to help project expansion and replication in other communities both locally and nation wide.
A brief list of all 2007 international finalists follows: ... more info:.
BANGLADESH: Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha for building up a fleet of 88 boats that use solar energy to bring education, training and renewable energy supplies to over 400,000 people living in the remote Chalanbeel region of Bangladesh.
CHINA: Beijing Shenzhou Daxu Bio-energy Technology Company Ltd for developing and marketing an innovative stove design that replaces coal by burning widely available crop waste as well as burning wood much more efficiently.
GHANA: Deng Ltd for developing a viable and sustainable business for the provision of solar-home-systems to rural areas where access to grid supply is limited.
INDIA: BIOTECH for developing and installing biogas plants in Kerala that use food waste which is often left out in the streets to rot, to generate gas for cooking.
INDIA: SKG Sangha for improving the lives of rural communities in Karnataka, South India by supplying them with both dung based biogas plants for cooking and a specially designed unit that turns the slurry from the biogas plant into high quality fertiliser.
LAO PDR: Sunlabob Renewable Energies Ltd for developing an innovative and commercially viable business model which provides high quality solar PV systems to the rural poor at a price they can afford.
NEPAL: Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal for upgrading over 2,400 traditional water mills in the Himalayas of Nepal and so , improving livelihoods for millers and mill users and stemming the rise in diesel mills.
PERU: Practical Action for transforming the lives of over 30,000 people living in remote villages in the Andes by providing them with electricity generated by micro-hydro plants.
PHILIPPINES: Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. for developing a ram pump design built to last at least twenty years and for bringing clean water to over 15,000 people through the installation of these ram pumps in 68 hillside villages in the Philippines.
TANZANIA: Zara Solar Ltd. for providing high quality, reliable solar-home-systems at affordable prices to communities lacking access to a reliable source of energy.
