Reggae artiste Sizzla has rejected as false a claim that he demanded a fee equal to that of fellow Jamaican artiste Vybz Kartel to close the One Caribbean Music Festival after Kartel failed to appear.
Kartel’s fee was US$1.35 million to perform in Trinidad.
Promoter Dane Anderson told regional media that Sizzla’s team revised their fee upwards after learning that Kartel would no longer perform. According to Anderson, the new demand matched Kartel’s contracted amount—an increase he said was not feasible due to the festival’s strained budget.
“We were prepared to pay Sizzla’s balance as agreed,” Anderson said. “Unfortunately, there was a request for significantly more, and when we could not meet the new demand on such short notice, they opted to withdraw.”
In an official statement, Sizzla described that version of events as a “blatant lie.” He said that during a meeting with the promoter—who had not yet paid the 50 per cent deposit outlined in their agreement—his team merely suggested that the unpaid balance be covered using the funds already allocated for the missing headliner.
“We simply said to the promoter in a meeting, when he still didn’t offer to pay us the 50 per cent of our original contractual amount, that he should pay us the 50 per cent that he was going to pay the artiste that was to headline the show and didn’t appear, and I will headline the show,” he wrote.
Sizzla further revealed that, although his contract stipulated a 50 per cent advance, he had already arrived to perform at the event after receiving only ten per cent of the agreed fee.
“This is not acceptable—all because of Trinidad—and you still didn’t give us the 50 per cent owed to us, even upon my arrival at the hotel,” he said.
Despite the dispute, he acknowledged the efforts of the festival’s organisers. “I genuinely think the promoter and sponsors did a very good job; it’s just that the headliner didn’t appear.”
He added that he and his team waited at the hotel for hours after the meeting, expecting a resolution that never came. “The promoter didn’t get back to us the whole night—we waited and waited, and nothing happened. I fell asleep.”
Sizzla said that even if he had been willing to perform without the outstanding payment, the promoter failed to follow up with him.
He closed his statement on an upbeat note. “I went to the studio and compiled my album with some very talented local acts. We’re moving on. We love Trinidad. One love, Trinidad.”
Meanwhile, the fallout from the collapsed festival continues. Ticketing platform Island eTickets is threatening legal action against promoter Jacho Entertainment, demanding the return of US$80,000 advanced to headline act Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer.
However, Jacho Entertainment is pushing back. The company has accused Island eTickets of breaching its refund policy and warned the platform to halt all repayments until a full audit is completed.
