South Africa gets dance music awards

The idea for the Dance Music Awards of South Africa (DMASA) was envisaged by Ricardo da Costa, one of South Africa’s top DJs. The idea was conceived on the premise that “dance music’s popularity defies race, age and socio-economic dividers”.

“DMASA will create a platform for the commercial, underground, black, white, festival, clubs, male and females [sic] of the dance music industry to be honoured by the fans,” Da Costa said.

The award ceremony will not be conducted conventionally, where there is a stage, host and supporting acts. “The actual awards ‘ceremony’ will also be conducted online, where the winner will be announced in each category,” Soul Candi said in a statement. This process will give the audience an opportunity to engage with the artists.

The process will take place on social media and Soul Candi’s website. The audience will nominate and vote for the winners and there will be no panel present to adjudicate the process of determining the winners. The statement says artists who are honoured through this process will “be invited to a private honorary dinner to collect their actual physical awards”. The aim of the unconventional ceremony is to provide transparency to dance music fans.

The DMASA nomination process has been broken down into three phases. The first phase, which takes place in August, will see fans vote for their favourite top five artists per category favourite. Fans will then choose one artist in each category as part of phase two in September, after which the winners will be announced the following month. The honorary dinner will take place in October.    

“DMASA also hopes to stimulate dialogue and create a forum for songwriters, performers and dance music musicians,” the statement reads. “The evolution of dance music in Southern Africa is nothing short of a phenomenon.”

For more information, visit the DMASA Facebook page.

DMASA categories:

• Best Male DJ

• Best Female DJ

• Best Producer

• Best Live Act

• Best Festival

• Best Music Video (From Dance Artist)

• Best Male Vocalist of the Year

• Best Female Vocalist of the Year

• 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 Kwaito 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