Veteran calypsonian Elwin Mc. Quilkin known in the entertainment world as "Black Wizard" says he will no longer be taking part in competition.

Mc. Quilkin who was unsuccessful in his bid to hold on to the National Calypso crown for a third time last Sunday told GRENADA TODAY that there is too much stress involved behind this kind of activity.He spoke of having to give too much of his time and energy and that at the end of the competition gets nothing in return.

Black Wizard, one of Grenada's most consistent calypsonians believes the time has come for him to retire since entertainers must be able to make money for their work.

The calypsonian once won all three major titles in one year mainly the National and Soca Monarch crowns as well as the Road March title.

According to Mc. Quilkin, for a calypsonian to make any money from his materials he must be able to place in the top three positions in the DeManche Gras competition.

He said if this does not happen then one has to settle for little or nothing in the form of appearance fees saying this is all calypsonians can expect to get for their work at the end of the season.

Wizard pointed out that he is unsure whether or not he will even consider recording his lyrics next year since he has not been making any money due to piracy.

The former national monarch pointed out that he will only produce songs next year if they can receive protection under the current Copyright Act.

He is also of the view that not enough support is given to calypso tents, another avenue where calypsonians should make money from their work.

Mc. Quilkin believes this could be one of the reasons the other calypso associations on the island have agreed to hold talks this week-end with his association, the Grenada Professional Association of Calypsonians and Tents (G-PACT).

The former monarch stated that the talks will among other things focus on calypsonians coming together for the improvement of the artform.

Mc.Quilkin said one of the things they intend to agree on is for calypsonians to take back the staging of the Soca Monarch competition from the Grenada Carnival Committee (GCC).

He believes this is the way forward since calypsonians have come to the realisation that they themselves haven't made any substantial amount of money for this year's carnival season.

The former monarch said that another issue that will be given priority if the group does come together is to look at enforcing the Copyrights Act to deal with the issue of piracy.