SA: SAMAs 2023 nominees to be unveiled on 3 October

A special announcement is also set for the same day, which will see the awards reveal a new host city. According to the organisers, Recording Industry of South Africa’s (RiSA), a partnership that will see the #Road2SAMA29 campaign activated across multiple cities anchoring on music, fashion and tourism is also on the cards.

“The South African music industry has produced exceptional music over the past year and seen our artists take their brands to new heights both locally and globally,” RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi said. “We are proud to officially kick off #SAMA29 and look forward to sharing with the country some exciting new developments as the SAMA’s finds a new home.”

This year’s SAMA awards will be held at the end of the year, with local reports stating that financial constraints have prompted this change. While the long-running event has faced criticism following last year’s ceremony, which had artists and the public slamming the awards for cooking the results, SAMAs spokesperson Lesley Mofokeng assured the public in an interview with Music In Africa last year that the playing field was level.

“You can have your 300 followers on Instagram, the next artist can have 2 million followers, yet you will be treated the same way,” Mofokeng said. “It's about the quality, according to the opinion of our expert panel of judges.”

As part of his efforts to put the house in order after the 2022 awards ceremony, Sibisi suspended the SAMAs project team for violating rules after Pulane Maphari received an award for an album she allegedly repackaged and renamed for consideration.