World Music Labels Receive WOMEX & WMCE Awards

This year, WOMEX, together with its partners at the World Music Charts Europe have decided to award labels instead of chart-topping world music CDs. “In these challenging times for music producers, we thought it right to highlight those labels with the greatest chart success, making them the deserved center of attention,” said a WOMEX press release.

The WOMEX representatives explain how the selection is made: “Since we are awarding chart success in creative production, we are counting the work of A&R teams from individual companies. Two or more labels in the same overall company under one direction are counted together. Different, autonomous A&R teams from different company locations are counted separately. In this way, Crammed Discs and their sub-label Ziriguiboom are counted as one. The World Music Network (The Rough Guides) and Riverboat are counted as one, since all releases are created by the same team. But Virgin, Real World and EMI, though the same overall parent or marketing company, are counted separately, since they function as different companies with different A&R teams.”

The period covers the time since the last WOMEX, 10/2005 until 9/2006.

The WOMEX & World Music Charts Europe framed Award goes to each of the top three world music labels. They are:

1) World Circuit
Chart-topping CDs:

2) World Music Network/Riverboat
Chart-topping CDs:

3) Stern’s
Chart-topping CDs:

Here are this year’s remaining top-20 labels, each with their chart-topping CDs.

4) Piranha Musik
Chart-topping CDs:

  • Maurice el Médioni Meets Roberto Rodriguez: Descarga Oriental/The New York Sessions
  • Boban Markovic Orkestar: The Promise

5) Wrasse Records

  • Souad Massi: Honeysuckle/Mesk Elil
  • Amparanoia: La Vida Te Da

6) Asphalt Tango

7) Network Medien

8) Essay Recordings

9) Doublemoon

  • Mercan Dede: Breath
  • Project Smadj: S.O.S.S.O.S

10) Peregrina/Narada

11) Ya Basta

12) Palm Pictures

13) Crammed Discs/Ziriguiboom

14) Nonesuch

15) Realworld

16) Out Here

17) Aito

18) Six Degrees
Various Artists: Latin Travels 2; Karsh Kale: Broken English

19) Eastblok Music

  • Haydamaky: Ukraine Calling
  • Various Artists: Cafe Sputnik

20) UPE

  • Ilgi: Ne Uz Vieni Dienu
  • Ainars Mielavs: Paruni ar Sevi

Top World Music Majors

1) Universal
2) EMI/Virgin
3) Sony/BMG
4) Warner

Author: World Music Central News Room

World music news from the editors at World Music Central

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