Caribbean music is breaking new ground as Selecta Charts, a home-grown streaming platform, launches a mobile app to meet rising regional and global demand.
In a digital landscape crowded with international streaming giants, this latest move opens up fresh possibilities for artists and listeners—and signals a maturing Caribbean music scene ready to stake a bigger claim in the streaming era.
Selecta Charts’ mobile app is now available on iOS and Google Play.
The platform, founded by Barbadian entrepreneur Paul Husbands, began as a school project at Barbados Community College in 2012. Husbands, now chief executive, said the idea quickly grew after he recognised there was, and still is, a genuine demand for a streaming service highlighting regional music.
“From there, persons kept asking about it after I graduated from school, so I realised that there was actually interest in having a music streaming platform dedicated to Barbadian music,” he told Barbados TODAY. “After meeting with producers and artists locally, there was a sentiment artists outside of Barbados would want to be a part of it. So I should not keep it locked to only Barbadian music.”
Husbands explained that the release of the mobile app represents a vision he has worked towards since 2017.
“I had a vision from 2017 till now, that has only now been taken to the next level… going from just having a website dedicated to music to now having the app released for iOS and Android,” he said. “Basically, we have tripled access to the platform; it’s not just through the website, it’s now accessed by whichever store you prefer to use for your phone.”
The app introduces several features aimed at deepening music discovery. These include the Caribbean Top 10, a weekly chart updated based on streams, curated playlists across genres ranging from gospel to soca, reggae, hip hop, and even poetry, as well as country-specific pages.
“It is really the best place to discover music from the Caribbean,” Husbands said, adding that a major announcement about the Top 10 is expected in October.
The journey has not been without challenges. When Selecta Charts first launched in 2017, Husbands said the platform was “bare bones”, offering only a top 10 chart. Limited resources forced him to rely on personal savings, until a timely grant from Export Barbados (formerly BIDC) provided crucial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That grant literally saved the project,” he said.
Husbands credits the platform’s growth to the feedback of artists and dedicated users, who have offered support and constructive critiques over the years. Now, with the app in hand, he believes Selecta Charts is ready to take Caribbean music further onto a more global stage.
(SB)
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