Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016 - 2017

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Machel Montano is not just a soca artiste; he is a
constantly evolving brand – a brand that began
as a dream, nurtured by his mother Elizabeth
‘Lady’ Montano and father Winston ‘Monty’
Montano. With every additional success, Machel
further weaves himself and one of the Caribbean’s
majormusical genres, soca, into the fabric of world
culture.
There is perhaps no one – apart from Machel
himself – who knows that journey better than
Elizabeth, the ever visible yet quiet, supporting
force behind the superstar. She has functioned
in various roles in her son’s career, and continues
to be an integral part of the strategic planning,
research and implementation required to build
his brand.
From the outset, says the former
teacher and guidance counsellor,
when it came to her son’s
potential trajectory, she and
her geologist husband, who later
became Machel’s first manager,
were on the same page.
“We had the same revolutionary, out-of-the box
ideas and that set the example for our children,”
she said.
Machel’s success is tangible. He has used his
music and 33 years of experience in the business
to build a multifaceted franchise inclusive
of merchandising, annual events, the “EPIC”
Carnival, alcohol beverages, and the list goes on.
And the accolades are pouring in.
Elizabeth beams with pride when she speaks of
the journey to this point. But she admits it was
not a smooth ascent to this pinnacle of success.
When they first started out in the 1980s, they
met much opposition,
“He was considered too young to be performing.
Calypso and Soca just weren’t grabbing the young
people.”
Nonetheless, supportive of Machel’s dreams,
Elizabeth and Winston began to work towards
his artistic development. This required bridging
the existing musical generation gap. They knew
he had the talent. Thinking back to those early
years, the question was, “How do we make him
a household name?” They began researching and
implementing internationally successful music
industry branding and marketing trends, always
ensuring their campaigns had enough of an extra
edge to make them stand out.
It was here that the branding of the boy that would
eventually become one of the most recognised
names in the Caribbean music industry began.
It was 1989 and Machel - who was fifteen at
the time - had already been blazing a trail with
a debut album “Too Young To Soca” (1985);
appearances at international competitions such as
the Trinidad & Tobago National Song Writer’s
Festival (1986) and The Barbados Caribbean
Song Festival (1986); and a performance at the
world renowned Madison Square Garden in
New York City (1984). At the time, his band
Panasonic Expresscomprised of him, his brother
Marcus and some neighbours.
“We needed a new, catchier title by then,”
Elizabeth says. “And so, due to the hard work
of Winston, who was Machel’s manager at the
time, Xtatikwas born.” The name was an acronym
for a longer title: Express Trinidad and Tobago
International Kings. For the team, the new
moniker embodied the idea of a musical rapture.
“We created themes around the name, including
branded merchandise, performances and other
ventures. Xtatik became a household name.”
Elizabeth adds quickly, andwithout remorse, that
when it came to her son’s career and music, the
goal was never just Trinidad and Tobago. Even at a
young age, Machel desired international stardom
and the prodigy began to take a lead in developing
his brand, allowing his parents to take on a more
supporting role. They had laid a good foundation
and developed their son in a way that resulted in
himnot only being a perfectionist but developing
a drive to surpass whatever existed.
As the foundation of mobilizing andmapping out
Machel’s success was laid, his teamcoined various
names for different aspects of his brand and cross
collaborating with local and international acts
popular in different countries and genres. Name
re-branding is becoming big business worldwide,
with entire companies focusing on the research
and development of a name. InMachel’s case, the
name rebranding came along with the evolution
of the artiste himself. He has moved through
Machel Montano, “DoubleM” and,
most recently, Monk Monte. His
Xtatik band, initially comprising
just musicians, is now Machel
Montano HD, a complete machine
with a dance troupe and audio-
visual team that literally follows
him wherever he goes.
They also took the music forward via
collaborations. Travelling internationally first
brought Machel into spaces shared by dancehall
icons Shaggy and Beenie Man who were topping
the charts at the time.
“We introduced them to the other parts of the
Caribbean they may not have been reaching and
they, in turn, opened Jamaica up to us. We kept
doing this over the years in different spaces. To
date, top acts such as Doug E Fresh, Sean Paul,
Beenie Man, Pitbull, Wyclef Jean, Boyz to Men
have shared work with him, as well as Timaya,
Demi Lovato and Angela Hunte,” Elizabeth says.
When her husband had to spend more time
abroad due towork, Elizabeth took up the reins as
manager. All the while they tested newmanagers,
but just never found the right fit, so Elizabeth
continued to steer the Machel brand until 2014.
However, as would eventually happen with any
smart strategist and caring parent, Elizabeth
Machel’s success is tangible. He has used
his music and 33 years of experience in the
business to build a multifaceted franchise.
OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
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