This year, WOMEX, together with its partners at the World Music Charts Europe have decided to award labels instead of chart-topping world music CDs. "In these challenging times for music producers, we thought it right to highlight those labels with the greatest chart success, making them the deserved center of attention," said a WOMEX press release.

The WOMEX representatives explain how the selection is made: "Since we are awarding chart success in creative production, we are counting the work of A&R teams from individual companies. Two or more labels in the same overall company under one direction are counted together. Different, autonomous A&R teams from different company locations are counted separately.

In this way, Crammed Discs and their sub-label Ziriguiboom are counted as one. The World Music Network (The Rough Guides) and Riverboat are counted as one, since all releases are created by the same team. But Virgin, Real World and EMI, though the same overall parent or marketing company, are counted separately, since they function as different companies with different A&R teams."

The period covers the time since the last WOMEX, 10/2005 until 9/2006.

The WOMEX & World Music Charts Europe framed Award goes to each of the
top three world music labels. They are:

1) World Circuit
Chart-topping CDs:

• Cheikh Lô: Lamp Fall
• Toumani Diabaté & Symmetric Orchestra: Boulevard de l'Independance
• Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: In the Heart of the Moon

2) World Music Network/Riverboat
Chart-topping CDs:

• Emmanuel Jal & Adbel Gadir Salim: Ceasefire
• Daby Balde: Introducing Daby Balde
• Etran Finatawa: Introducing Etran Finatawa

3) Stern’s
Chart-topping CDs:

• Kékélé: Kinavana
• Thione Seck: Orientation
• Various Artists: Midnight in Mali

Here are this year’s remaining top-20 labels, each with their chart-topping CDs.

4) Piranha Musik
Chart-topping CDs:

• Maurice el Médioni Meets Roberto Rodriguez: Descarga Oriental/The New York Sessions
• Boban Markovic Orkestar: The Promise

5) Wrasse Records

• Souad Massi: Honeysuckle/Mesk Elil
• Amparanoia: La Vida Te Da

6) Asphalt Tango

• Kal: Kal
• Ion Petre Stoican: Sounds from a Bygone Age, Vol. 1

7) Network Medien

• Various Artists: Golden Afrique, Vol. 2
• Samba Sunda: Rahwana’s Cry

8) Essay Recordings

• Balkan Beat Box: Balkan Beat Box
• Amsterdam Klezmer Band: Remixed!

9) Doublemoon

• Mercan Dede: Breath
• Project Smadj: S.O.S.S.O.S

10) Peregrina/Narada

• Lila Downs: La Cantina
• Various Artists: Dreamworld

11) Ya Basta

• Gotan Project: Lunatico
• David Walters: Awa

12) Palm Pictures

• Gigi: Gold and Wax
• Ernest Ranglin: Alextown

13) Crammed Discs/Ziriguiboom

• Various Artists: Congotronics 2
• Think of One: Tráfico

14) Nonesuch

• Kronos Quartet & Asha Bosle: You've Stolen My Heart
• Ry Cooder: Chavez Ravine

15) Realworld

• Värttinä: Miero
• Los de Abajo: LDA v. the Lunatics

16) Out Here

• Various Artists: African Rebel Music
• Various Artists: Lagos Stori Penti

17) Aito

• Maria Kalaniemi: Bellow Poetry
• Jouku Kyhälä: Saalas

18) Six Degrees
Various Artists: Latin Travels 2; Karsh Kale: Broken English

19) Eastblok Music

• Haydamaky: Ukraine Calling
• Various Artists: Cafe Sputnik

20) UPE

• Ilgi: Ne Uz Vieni Dienu
• Ainars Mielavs: Paruni ar Sevi

Top World Music Majors

1) Universal
2) EMI/Virgin
3) Sony/BMG
4) Warner