Big changes for NAMAS
Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer at MTC Tim Ekandjo (Photograph by Melba Chipepo).
From next yearn onwards, members of the public will no longer be able to vote in the majority of the Namibian Annual Music Awards’ (NAMAs) categories.
“The changes that we have made are meant to place emphasis on quality and making sure that we systematically continue to raise the standard of the music and the event itself so we have made a decision to have the 100 % vote by the judges on all categories except for the Song of the year which gets 100% public vote,” said Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer at MTC Tim Ekandjo.
Other changes include an introduction of four additional categories: the Most Popular Artist of the Year, the Most Socially Responsible Artist of the Year, the Most Disciplined Artist of the Year and the Best Live Act.
Winners in the categories will be chosen by the public, however Ekandjo explained that the award for the Most Social Responsible Artist will only be given after organizers have evaluated the exact social acts that the artist would have done.
The Most Disciplined Artist will be awarded according to the perspective of the fans based on such aspects such as commitment to showing up at shows, commitment to their music as well as their craft as artists.
The Best Live Act will be given to artists for having mastered the art of performing live. The winner of this category will be chosen using a 100 % public vote.
Other changes will also see a limit in the number of categories artists may enter. “It allows us to manage the entries better, allows traditional artists in certain music genres the ability to still compete, and motivates artists to stay within their genres”, Ekandjo said
Single artists will be limited to a maximum of two music genres, excluding the Best Male and Female Artists of the Year categories and Best Group category. Artists will also not be allowed to withdraw from the awards once they enter, and will need to get consent from producers and record labels prior to entering songs.
They will also be auditions for MCs and category presenters. Auditions will start this year to give the chosen hosts and presenters enough time to ensure that they are ready for the occasion. NBC will train presenters and masters of ceremonies prior to the event, said NBC’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Umbi Karuaihe-Upi.
The awards, which are usually held on a Saturday, will now be held on both Friday and Saturday as from next year. The Friday night ceremony will be focused on industry awards such as Producer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award. “This will make the show less tedious and more entertaining, and will allow for more… greater focus on the main award ceremony” said Ekandjo. The Friday night show will not be televised live, but inserts of the show will be shown in the live main show on Saturday. The NAMAs 2014 will have 36 categories in total.
