The annual Dance Music Awards South Africa (DMASA) returns later this year for its third instalment.
Launched on social media, with nominations officially opening to the public on Monday, the people’s favourites are already streaming in.
Following huge success over the past two years, the Dance Music Awards SA plans to be even bigger with an exciting additional category this year. And with even more support from the SA music industry, this will be one for the history books with over 21 categories .
Created to acknowledge and honour the accomplishments and contributions of South African dance music artists, DMASA aims to award the hard working, publicly recognised individuals who are pushing boundaries and driving South Africa’s dance music industry forward.
The winner selection will be held online with the DMASA managed as an audience-voted award event dedicated to South African dance music. Voting and nominations will be made through the official website with support from social media. The user voted award process is transparent, giving the public the power to choose the award winners.
The competition will be driven by social media and online interaction, meaning no “panel” will dictate the nominees.
The actual awards "ceremony" will also be conducted online, where the winner will be announced in each category. This not only provides fans a chance to interact with artists/DJs around South Africa, but also helps those artists/DJs gain recognition and prestige throughout a wider fan base and audience.
The winners will then be invited to a private honorary dinner to collect their awards in early October.
"Now in its third year, the DMASA is once again taking place to celebrate the evolution of the genre and its creators. Once again we get to honour the greats of dance music," says awards representative Ricardo da Costa. "Dance music knows no race, age and even socio-economic dividers. It offers the perfect platform to celebrate our diversity as South Africans through music. So these awards celebrate the people who make this music happened for us, the fans."
The DMASA 2019 categories are listed below with the inclusion of a new category, Best Amapiano Record of the Year.
- Best Male DJ
- Best Female DJ
- Best Producer
- Best Live Act
- Best Festival
- Best Music Video (From Dance Artists)
- Best Male Vocalist of the Year (From Dance Artists)
- Best Female Vocalist of the Year (From Dance Artists)
- Best Record Label
- Compilation of The Year
- Album of The Year
- Remix of The Year
- Best International DJ (who has recently toured or performed in SA)
- Best International Producer (who has had recent success in the SA market)
- Best Club of The Year (includes Clubs, Lounges, Bars, etc)
- Best House Record of the Year
- Best Gqom Record of the Year
- Best EDM Record of the Year
- Best Underground Record of the Year (All non-commercial dance & underground sounds by SA Dance Music Artist)
- Best Dance Radio Show Award
- Best Amapiano Record of the Year
The DMASA hopes to stimulate dialogue and create a forum for songwriters, performers and dance music musicians. Through this exchange the DMASA hopes to draw attention to the artists/DJ’s and ideas at work in the dance music industry and promote greater participation and recognition for South African dance music abroad.
For more information check out http://www.dmasa.co.za/.