Two weeks left to enter the 14th SAMA’s
Muso’s get going – there are only two weeks left until entries close for The 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards that take place in May 2008. November 30th 2007 is the cut-off date for those who want to enter the most prestigious music awards event on the industry calendar. With the exception of a handful of categories, product released between 1st December 2006 and 30th November 2007 will be eligible for entry into 2008’s edition of the awards.
Those categories where the release date of the album is not considered are Best Selling Album, the Lifetime Achievement Award, Best Music Video and Record of the Year. The proprietary online entry system for record companies will once again be used for the submission of entries. Entry forms must be completed and submitted online at http://www.samusicawards.co.za/.
Alternatively, RiSA staff have set up a helpdesk at their premises to assist anyone who cannot make use of the online entry system. RiSA’s offices are located at Unit 4, 150 Bram Fischer Drive, Randburg. All material being submitted for consideration must reach RiSA by no later than November 30th 2007 for entries to be eligible for the 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards, which are scheduled to take place in early May 2008.
Where eligibility requirements are concerned, entry is open to any qualifying recording artist, director, producer or engineer – the qualifying factor being someone who has been a legal resident in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, or Botswana for a minimum of six (6) months on the date of entry or is a South African citizen.
For duos or groups, the rules stipulate that not less than 50 percent of the duo or group needs to fall into this citizenship requirement stated above. In addition, unless stated otherwise, collaborations/productions between qualifying artists and international artists are allowed, provided the South African qualifying artists’ participation is given star, or equal, billing.
Rules guiding entry submissions are also available for downloading from the MTN SAMA website – www.samusicawards.co.za – a reference tool that serves as a guideline for the entire process of the MTN South African Music Awards. This year there are an incredible 62 categories, with enhancements to existing categories and brand new categories coming from an ongoing desire to reflect the diversity, the dynamism, and the talent that exists in the South African music industry! Of the 62 categories, TEN categories are not open for entry from October 29th to November 30th.
These are the Record of the Year, a pubic vote category that employs radio airplay as the mechanism for determining the nominees; Best Selling Album and the newly inaugurated Best Selling DVD and Best Selling Music Download of the Year which open for entry after the close of entries in all other categories owing to their extended qualifying dates, but use a different set of criteria that involve an audit as explained in the rules covering the categories; and Lifetime Achievement Award which is bestowed on recipients nominated by the RiSA Executive Committee. Modern music business has seen the evolution of two powerful new drivers in the form of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) and the Music Download. The contributions that they make will be celebrated accordingly with their important new role at the 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards by introducing a vastly increased platform of recognition for DVD – the number of categories has increased at the 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards to SIX from previously only having had ONE category at the 13th Annual MTN SA Music Awards events; and the first time introduction of the awards for music download performance in Best Selling Music Download, a category that has three separate sub-categories namely: Best Selling Ring-Tune, Best Selling Full-Track and Best Selling Video.
The remaining five categories form part of the 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards ‘Top 5’ categories that came into being at the 13th Annual MTN SA Music Awards – Best Female Album, Best Male Album, Best Album by a Duo or Group, Best Newcomer Album and Album of the Year. For the Top 5, record companies cannot directly enter product into the Best Female Album, Best Male Album, Best Album by a Duo or Group and Best Newcomer Album categories. These four categories, with the important addition of Album of the Year, now form the SA Music Awards Top 5 group. To be eligible for entry into the Top 5 categories, the album would have to be nominated within its genre category. The Top 5 process enters its second year at the 14th Annual MTN SA Music Awards and judging by the prodigious support for last year’s outstanding nominees and winners, the indications are that the winners in each of the five categories truly are the among best South Africa has to offer.
The Top 5 judging system draws on the knowledge and expertise of the entire judging panel, and employs a rigorous series of judging procedures to ensure that the ultimate results for the Top 5 categories represent the music industry’s finest. Following on the ever-increasing successes of previous years’ awards, an unprecedented number of entries are anticipated. To avoid the disappointment of missing the deadline, early entry is recommended. The organizers and sponsors wish to extend their very best wishes to all entrants and their earnest gratitude to the judges in anticipation of their commitment. So if you are a recording artist, a producer or an engineer with an album that fits the criteria for entry, then log on to www.samusicawards.co.za from October 29th to November 30th 2007 and make sure you enter the 14th annual MTN SA Music Awards, South Africa’s most prestigious awards ceremony!
