SAMAs submission deadline looms

“Only 10 days to go and the SAMA 24 excitement will be kicking in full gear as the judging process begins,” SAMAs CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi said on Monday. “We encourage the industry to take this last-minute opportunity to send through their entries to be considered for a SAMAs.

“After a vibrant year that saw the emergence and growth of music genres and new talent, it’s time for the country’s most prestigious music awards to honour those who stood head and shoulders above the rest.

“It was a busy year and the industry showed a lot of growth, so we anticipate a fiercely competitive instalment of the awards,” he said about that awards that take place at Sun City near Rustenburg on 2 June.”

Sibisi said the submission process was the first step towards picking the nominees in each category.

“It will be followed by a vigorous verification process leading to the judging by a selected panel of industry experts and peers before the nominees are made public,” he said.

Speaking to Music in Africa, Sibisi said: “The entries are still open. We cannot clearly indicate the numbers accordingly but we hope to exceed last year’s numbers.

“We make a call for entries three months in advance but we always get an influx of people submitting their entries in the last week before the closing date, which puts enormous pressure on the team.”

Sibisi said there would be a number of new elements added to this year’s music celebration.

“SAMA 24 comes with more excitement and buzz. This year we are adding more activities to the SAMA’s, which will involve the other provinces more. There will also be a different twist to the nominee launch as well as more events happening over the SAMAs weekend in the North West province.”

Meanwhile, the SAMAs organisers have made a number changes to the awards’ categories:

• Best Rap Album was changed to Best Hip Hop Album to allow hip hop DJs to enter their albums.
• Best African Adult changed to Best African Adult Contemporary Album.
• Best Africa Artist changed to Best African Artist.
• The Best Kwaito Album category has not been changed, but its definition was expanded to include gqom, new age kwaito, amapiano and other types of kwaito sub-categories.

Sibisi said the changes were designed to keep the SAMAs relevant, competitive and to ensure that excellence was celebrated and rewarded.