ON OCT. 15, Mquest Ventures and the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) signed a partnership that would let the 38th Awit Awards — the country’s longest-running music award-giving body — hold its awards show within TV5’s Vibe PH, an OPM (Original Pilipino Music) countdown show. The awards show will be held on Nov. 16.
“They’re going to do the awards in the Vibe program,” said Jane Basas, MediaQuest Holdings Inc. president and chief executive officer. Mquest Ventures is the content creation hub of the MediaQuest Group, which also includes BusinessWorld.
The Awit Awards will be held on Nov. 16 at the Meralco Theater, directed by Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan. It has five categories: Performance Awards, Genre Recording Awards, Special Recording Awards, Technical Achievement Awards, and Grand Awards.
Vibe jocks Ana Ramsey, Maxie, Joao Constancia, Elijah Canlas, Dylan Menor, Ryle Santiago, Paolo Angeles, Kych Minemoto, and Queenay will host the awards night and kick it off with a special performance. Joining them will be Vibe’s young Gen Vs, who will interview the nominees and bring exclusive behind-the-scenes moments. Performers for that evening include Ben&Ben, Over October, Lola Amour, and Dionela.
“From a format standpoint, it actually makes sense,” she told BusinessWorld after the contract signing at the PLDT Ramon Cojuangco Building in Makati. “They give recognition to Filipino music and artists. That’s the same thing that we celebrate in Vibe.
“The objective of Awit’s management is to attract the young listeners and the young viewers, and that’s precisely the target market for Vibe.”
This comes on the heels of recent activity within Mquest Ventures’ music publishing and label, MQuest Music, which has published two new releases since its inception a month and a half ago, by Ms. Basas’ count. These include Kit Inciong’s “Sukob Na” and “Tayo na Lang” by Carmela Lorzano, along with a partnership with songwriter Vehnee Saturno.
“I see it as a pillar in an ecosystem of entertainment platforms I’m building,” she said. “The big vision for MediaQuest is to make sure that we’re able to build an ecosystem of content and platforms. Part of that content is actually music.”
The 38th Awit Awards will be broadcast nationwide via Vibe on TV5. Audiences can also catch the event via livestream on the official social media platforms of Vibe PH, TV5, MQuest Ventures, and Awit Awards. Lists of the nominees can be found on the Awit Awards Facebook page (facebook.com/AwitAwards/). — Joseph L. Garcia
