The newly-found Central Music Awards (CMA) is aiming to shine the spotlight on local talent by recognising and rewarding local artists.
This is according to the Head of Communications and co-founder of CMA, Tshediso Thinane, who added that the awards are composed to reignite the music industry in the Free State. “Artists are currently facing serious challenges, including poor commercial value and access to markets, as national and international markets are mainly accessed through established and big record labels,” said Thinane.
The programme, composed by Alah Arts Foundation, Obamelang Trading, TeamzDynamics Consulting, and Melamu Music, will hopefully be a central place for all the artists in Central SA to share experiences, learn from one another, and grow. “We also hope for the awards to convince stakeholders both in government and the private sector to start considering giving opportunities to the artists in the centre of South Africa,” said Thinane.
The CMA was launched in June 2021 and will soon host its first Nominees Announcement Launch on 28 January 2022 at the Bloemfontein Civic Theatre. According to Thinane, the main event of the awards will be held by the Performing Arts Council of the Free State (Pacofs).
“We wish to invite all the artists to rally behind the Central Music Awards because we’re just mere coordinators but the true and real owners of this programme are the artists themselves. As coordinators, we don’t have extraordinary commercial interests in this programme but we positioned them as a developmental programme that is obsessed with the needs of the artists,” concluded Thinane.
For more information visit their Facebook Page: Central Music Awards.
Pierce van Heerden
