Soul Train Music Awards Go Off The Tracks

by Jarrett Martineau | April 18, 2008 at 06:50 am

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The Soul Train Music Awards, just like the television show that preceded them, are no more.

I'll freely admit that I never watched the broadcast and not having the invited stars show up sounds like reason enough to forego a tv broadcast. That said, are the BET Awards really the best replacement for an awards show that is dedicated to African-American artists?

It's the end of the line for the Soul Train Music Awards, which have largely been ignored by the African-American stars the event aims to honor.

A spokeswoman said the show would not go ahead with its 22nd annual installment this year, but a reason was not specified.

At last year's event in Pasadena, most of the winners did not show up, including such A-listers as Beyonce Knowles, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Gnarls Barkley.

The show takes place a few weeks after the Grammys, the music industry's top awards. Similarly themed ceremonies like the BET Awards have also provided some competition.

Perhaps more critically, the underlying syndicated dance show "Soul Train" ended its historic run in 2006. It was distributed by Tribune Entertainment, which exited the syndication business when billionaire Sam Zell took its Tribune Co. parent private late last year in a highly leveraged deal.

The "Soul Train" TV show has served as an important promotional springboard for black music's biggest stars since launching in national syndication in 1971. It claimed to be the longest-running show airing in first-run syndication.