Soca was carnival good time music when VP Records launched its Soca Gold compilation album in 1997. Its primary audience is still the Caribbean, but soca’s percussive beats has made strides in the United States, especially in cities with strong West Indian presence.

Today, Soca Gold 2019 will be launched at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Montego Bay. The series’ 23rd instalment is a double compact disc of top soca hit songs such as Come Inside by Sean Caruth and Kes’ Savannah Grass.

Significantly, VP Records has signed with health and fitness programme FITBK to help promote Soca Gold 2019 which will play songs from the set during their classes. The partnership is instructive, says Richard Lue, director of business development at VP.

“We are always looking for any opportunity to expand the brand while getting soca played all year outside the carnival seasons. This partnership to launch Soca Gold Fitness 2019 with FITBK will help us achieve those goals,” Lue told the Jamaica Observer.

Based in Brooklyn, FITBK has 15,000 followers. Because most of their members are from the Caribbean or have West Indian heritage, many of their routines are done to music from the region.

Songs from Soca Gold will feature at their Soca Explosion events, scheduled for July and August in Coney Island.

In the 22 years since Soca Gold debuted, the music business has transformed tremendously. The CD format, which introduced the series, has given way to digital distribution, forcing VP to find alternative ways to market their product.

“The rise of digital distribution of singles in general has made the viability of compilations more difficult. That is why VP has taken the strategy of expanding our compilations into more lifestyle brands; in the case of Soca Gold, fitness and exercise,” he explained. “The Soca Gold brand has always represented a collection of the best songs from the widest variety of islands, and we work to take it to the largest global market. We have been lucky that these objectives, along with the expertise of our soca A&R manager Edwin Howell and the relationship he has with the soca fraternity, make it attractive for the best in soca to continue working with us.”

VP launched Soca Gold as a foil to its Reggae Gold and Strictly The Best dancehall/reggae series which helped put the Queens, New York label on the map in the 1990s. It features mainly songs that were hits during carnival season.