In February, 2008 Pyramid produced a music truck at Trinidad Carnival with the Tribe mas band featuring several Barbadian artistes as well as a cast of Trinidadian and regional artistes. Not only did the artistes receive tremendous visibility but the company cemented its brand in the marketplace attracting the attention of millions of spectators. The two days on the road was filmed by a local Trinidad film crew and a 30 minute programme documenting our experiences of Carnival Monday and Tuesday (click here to view) was later produced and used by VP records as part of their Soca Gold 2008 compilation.

Our decision to document the Carnival experience was borne out of certain realisations about the Caribbean music industry which continue to plague its development. One of those realities was quite simply that insufficient is known about the business of music. Everyone enjoys the live performances and the quick interviews which capture the artistes as they come off stage but very seldom is the behind the scenes of the business captured and presented in a way which explains the hardwork and planning which help to make the event or the artistes successful. 

As a management and booking company we understand the importance of entertaining and also educating the public about what we and our artistes do. It is only with an appreciation of the business of music that policy makers and investors will fully understand how their incentives and financial assistance helps to shape the future of Caribbean creators in the global music industry. 

"Ideally, what we would like the public to appreciate is that Carnival is more than just a performance by the artiste at a show. What you see is often the result of a lot of planning and scheduling of meetings. There are highs and lows and sometimes we have to be able to think quickly how to make the best out of a situation when it doesn't seem to be going the way we want it to," says Santia Bradshaw, CEO, Pyramid Entertainment. "We want the public to understand the sacrifice, the investment and the fact that there is such a thing as the entertainment business. We hope that through our efforts to educate that others will be inspired to be a part of one of the most dynamic and rewarding careers" 

As we embark on our second year producing a music truck with the Sesame Flyers International mas band in New York we will be producing a behind the scenes documentary about the preparation for and actual experiences of the artistes during the Labour Day Carnival. One of the highlights of our experience last year was the need to represent the blue yellow and black colours of the Barbados flag on Carnival Monday. As the weekend unfolded, the Brooklyn area came alive in a sea of colour as the people of every Caribbean background proudly displayed their national flag on their cars, their clothing or even their accessories.  For us, there was a sense of pride in not only being Barbadian but also West Indian which ran through our veins that weekend. 

This Labour Day Carnival Monday we are fortunate to work again with our proud sponsors Mount Gay Rum as we embark on another year of brand building and awareness in the global market place. It is encouraging to see that companies such as Mount Gay Rum recognize the synergies which can be formed between corporate and entertainment companies to promote and market their products and we hope that their bold step is an encouragement to many other corporate entities to see entertainment as a viable marketing and promotional tool for their businesses. 

The Pyramid team leave for New York today in preparation for the busy Labour day Carnival weekend. Equipped with a camera man and a photographer the events of Labour day carnival will be captured in a way never before seen. We will be shooting some behind the scenes footage at the Sesame Flyers mas camp and talking to the Mount Gay representative in New York. We also be covering some of the live interviews with Dahved Levy, the instore album promotions at VP Records, the various shows which the artistes are scheduled to appear on and of course on the Eastern Parkway on Carnival Monday. 

Stay tuned to www.pyramidartists.com for the launch of the behind the scenes "Labour Day Carnival 2K8 video."