SEA AWARDS 2008 Welcome to the hottest awards show in the South! Headquartered in Nashville, TN, the Southern Entertainment Awards is here to represent for those responsible for contributing to the growth of southern music. We highlight the accomplishments of the top DJ's, Producers, Recording Artists, Labels, Websites, Retail Stores, Models and Clothing companies in the SOUTH. Our awards show is designed to give credit to those left out by other award shows, and also to shine light on independent artists, but the south as a whole. The first Southern Entertainment Awards was held at Gibson's Showcase in 2004 in Nashville TN and we had an attendance of over 752 people. We exceeded those numbers in 2005, 2006 & 2007 with attendance numbers well of over 3,000 people. As we move closer to the 5th Annual Southern Ent. Awards we are expecting over 3,500 people to attend this event during the weekend of Jan 24-27, 2008 at The Grand Casino Resort in Tunica, MS. The Southern Ent Awards covers the ENTIRE SOUTH and we are currently backed by over 400 DJs and 200 Independent Record Labels. We represent the "Who's Who" of Entertainment in the South, and it has been noted in various magazine articles that this event has filled a long over-due void in the SOUTH. The Southern Entertainment Awards is a great place to see and hear some of the HOTTEST MUSIC IN THE SOUTH! We provide a weekend full of activities designed to recognize & promote Southern Music, and at the same time create an ideal environment for networking with various people in the industry. We will, not only bring the South together as a whole, but to also provide a pedestal for Southern Music that the World will have to recognize. If you weren’t one of the 3,000 people in attendance at the 4th Annual Southern Entertainment Awards in Tunica, MS., you definitely should’ve been. The weekend long event which kicked off with an artist showcase on Thursday, January 25 and ended with the awards show on Sunday, January 28 was filled with music, conferences and invaluable networking for all participants both on stage and off. So, if you record, distribute, market, manufacture, model, advertise or love music, the Southern Entertainment Awards and Industry Insight Conference is a MUST ATTEND EVENT for you. We support the DJs, artists, labels, magazines, websites and anyone who not only celebrates Southern Music, but also promotes its advancement. We feel that it is our duty to honor those and broadcast their accomplishments to the World! How can an artist who is not being played on the air become nominated for an award? Who are the Southern Entertainment Award judges? Who chooses the judges? How are the winners determined? In your opinion how fair is the judging? How are the performances determined? What changes at the SEAs are needed? Do you need or accept volunteers/interns? What media covers the event? Who are the founders? What impact in the south have they made? When was it established? How many people attend? What is the mission statement? What is the key to keeping the SEA awards around? What is the best contact information for SEA staff? If artists are interested in obtaining more information? What are your views on hip hop today? Hip hop police? Pirating? Some artists do not realize there is a forum the day before the awards, in the demo listening clinic, please explain what happens there? What artist do you like? Is Southern music on a decline? How can an artist who is not being played on the air become nominated for an award? Answer: Our nomination process takes place yearly via our website (www.southernentawards.com) from May to Aug 15th. We allow “anyone” from the industry or general population nomination whoever they see fit for anyone of our 60 plus categories. *They must have a valid e-mail address though.* After this process ends in August, we then tally up all nominations received and narrow each category down from the 100 plus names to the top 10 names based on the number of nominations received. (note: we’re receiving anywhere from 7-10k total nominations.) Back to Top Who are the Southern Entertainment Award judges? Answer: We have no judges. Back to Top Who chooses the judges? Answer: N/A Back to Top How are the winners determined? Answer: Winners are determined solely based on the “streets/peoples” input. They pick the nominees and then turn right back around to pick the winners. Back to Top In your opinion how fair is the judging? Answer: We feel that our process is fair to everyone, but with anything nothing is 100% perfected, but we’re working on that also. There are always those who feel that they should be nominated simply because they do well in their city, but that’s not always going to get them on the ballot especially when every market is a different size. People have to be making noise in the “South!” Back to Top How are the performances determined? Answer: To qualify to perform you must be nominated and planning on attending. Back to Top What changes at the SEAs are needed? Answer: Some of the changes are simple in-house adjustments that nobody else will notice. Some of the other adjustments that needed to occur have been tended to for the 2008 event. Back to Top Do you need or accept volunteers/interns? Answer: We do accept volunteer/interns as long as they contact us in advance. We’ve received countless e-mails and phone calls for volunteer/interns during the month of December and January, but few prior to that. Please understand that we work on this event 12 months a year and need help all 12 months of the year. Back to Top What media covers the event? Answer: We normally draw in over 50 media outlets from across the country (too many different ones to name). Back to Top Who are the founders? Answer: Janiro Hawkins II, Jesse Johnson & Brent Buford Back to Top What impact in the south have they made? Answer: This event is our impact in the South. Many people continue to tell us that we filled a huge void that existed for independents, djs and those wanting to break in to the industry Back to Top When was it established? Answer: The 1st Southern Entertainment Awards was held in January of 2004 in Nashville, TN. Our initial planning and concept started in May of 2003. Back to Top How many people attend? Answer: Our 1st event drew 752 people. Back to Top What is the mission statement? Answer: To highlight the accomplishments of the South! We will, not only bring the South together as a whole, but to also provide a pedestal for Southern Music that the World will have to recognize. Back to Top What is the key to keeping the SEA awards around? Answer: One of the key things needed to keep this event around is the continuance of the “word of mouth” pass along rate. There are plenty of our nominees who let others know that they are nominated, to vote for them or to even nominate them. We need those who have won to continue to let people know of their accomplishments and awards. Those who have attended the conference need to let others know that the Rap Coalition provides a wealth of knowledge over two days for FREE! All of this will help the SEAs to continue to exist! Back to Top What is the best contact information for SEA staff? Answer: If people want to know about our event, past nominees, winners, etc then they can simply visit our website at: www.southernentawards.com. Our site is updated weekly with any new information. We already have our 2009 Sponsorship information posted on the site for people to review and plan accordingly. Back to Top If artists are interested in obtaining more information? Answer: visit website also. Back to Top What are your views on hip hop today? Answer: I love music and I’ve been a fan of hip-hop since I could listen to music. One of my 1st records was “Rappin Duke” I grew up on Krush Groove, Beat Street and the entire Breakin’ collection. Music like all things evolve and eventually go back from whence they started, so right now all this talk about the “state of hip-hop” is mainly from people who feel that it has spun out of control and needs to go back, but ultimately if they are patient enough it will. All things have to regress to grow. Is there some music out there that is made for any intelligence quotient? Yes, but at the same time, who was responsible for feeding it to the masses and programming people? Back to Top Hip hop police? Answer: If America wants to continue to attack something that they had a hand in creating, then that’s their issue, but there are many more “important” things that they should be focusing on, so I don’t know of any hip-hop police, but they can feel free to contact me as well…maybe we can get them on a panel one year to let people know what they really do and why…lol Back to Top Pirating? Answer: Digital music sales are up, labels are mad, but artists love it…..need I say more? Back to Top Some artists do not realize there is a forum the day before the awards, in the demo listening clinic, please explain what happens there? Answer: Actually our event is a 4-day event that includes showcases, workshops, informative panels, meet & greets and a demo listening clinic. For those who want to learn what’s coming down the road and how to get on that road, these are very important things that people need to attend, plus they are FREE. Question: Why wouldn’t an artist attend a “Demo Listening Clinic” full of Djs, Regional Promotions Teams and Music Directors if they are trying to find out what song to make their 1st single? Back to Top What artist do you like? Answer: I like too many artists to name them all and fear that I may forget a name or two also, so if you make good music, then I’m listening…! Back to Top Is Southern music on a decline? Answer: I would say no…..if you turn on any tv, radio station or visit just about any website you will see the influence of Southern Music, so I would have to say again that, its not and its all up in ya face! Back to Top