The second Central Music Awards (CMA), aimed at recognising and celebrating achievements by performing artists in the central region, is on Bloemfontein’s awards calendar for this year.
The launch of this event on 9 February marked the opening of the registration process, which is set to close on 9 March.
The CMA was held for the first time last year. The event returns amid lingering controversy regarding the payment of last year’s winners.
The event organisers have acknowledged challenges relating to the payment of winners. They blame a lack of interest by private-public entities to support performing artists.
Boitumelo Mamome, Lehlohonolo Mokoena and Kegorapetse Melamu are hoping this will change.
“Although there were some challenges relating to sponsors who reneged on their commitments, the event was a success. The CMA team learned valuable lessons to make the 2023 awards even better,” said Mamome.
No less than 200 artists registered to participate last year, with entrants recognised across 23 categories.
This year a team of adjudicators will evaluate the applications and employ criteria such as artist brand visibility, performances and bookings, music released, and valid registration with music industry agencies. These include the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro); the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association (Capasso); the South African Music Performance Rights Association (Sampra); and the Recording Industry of South Africa (Risa).
The six nominees in each category will be voted on by the public.
Interested record labels and artists can register via a link that will be posted on the CMA’s social media pages.
