Call for applications: Djooky Music Awards

This partnership seeks to support artists represented on Nam Radio’s development programme, Talent Showcase Africa (TSA), which provides essential training that equips artists with the skills and knowledge needed in the competitive music industry.

Eleven African singers have already registered to take part in the DMAs, with registrations from Malawi, Ghana and South Africa leading the way.

TSA was co-founded in 2019 by Tanzanian voice coach and author Tony Joett and Nam Radio founder Collin Mogagabe.

The DMA jury includes songwriter, record producer and music executive Justin Gray, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and R&B singer Patrice Rushen and DMA co-founder Brian Malouf.

“Nam Radio’s philosophy has a huge resonance with Djooky’s vision," the multi-platinum American producer and engineer Malouf told Music In Africa. "While Nam Radio exists to reduce inequalities for emerging artists within the entertainment industry and increase opportunities on mainstream platforms, at Djooky we want to create fairer opportunities for musicians who are struggling to break through the power structures that currently exist in the music industry."

Commenting on the new partnership, Mogagabe said: “With this partnership we are bringing great value to emerging and established artists, and with our in-house Talent Showcase Africa platform, we shall be extending our voice coaching products and services across the continent to help artists prepare for their song recording projects."

Djooky co-founder and CEO Andrew Dakhovskyy said: "Our ambition is to create a truly global platform which welcomes artists from all countries of the world. The African continent is rich with musical talent and we are excited to be able to reach out to the emerging artists from all across Africa through our partnership with Nam Radio.”

Requirements

The applicants should:

• Be aged 16 years and above.
• Upload music compositions that consist of melody and lyrics (song).
• Not submit a song that has been commercialised (released by one of the three major labels: Universal, Sony, Warner or/and their affiliates) before 1 June 2020.
• Submit an original song that is maximum 4 minutes long.

Note:

• The song and other uploaded multimedia material should not contain any defamatory or obscene material. All obscene, indecent or in any other way offensive content will be removed from the platform immediately.
• Songs must not promote any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous. They must not endorse any form of hate or hate group.

Voting process

The global final results will be determined by way of combining the jury vote and the popular vote, while the national and continental rounds will be finalised through public voting.

Voting will be done via the Djooky app or the Djooky website.

View the list of eligible countries here.

Selection process

• The top three applicants from each country will be shortlisted for the continental voting round, which will be held on 22 August.
• The finalists from each continent will compete for the main prize in the global voting round, which will take place on 29 August.

The winner of the contest will:

• Receive a cash prize to upgrade their recording equipment.
• Travel to the iconic Capitol Studios in Los Angeles to record a song with Malouf and his team.
• Attend coaching sessions with some of the best global music experts.

How to apply

Applicants can register and upload their song here.

The application deadline is 15 August 2020.

For more information, email Tony Joett at [email protected] or Collin Mogagabe at [email protected].