Organisers hail Nyasa Music Awards

The organisers of Nyasa Music Awards (NMA) say the inaugural show, which took place last Saturday, was impressive.

According to a press release signed by the three directors Mathambo Lowole, James Makunje and Chifundo Maganga, NMA involved practitioners from the local music industry to make sure that the awards are truly Malawian.

“NMA organisers believe the awards represent the choice of the voters based on the criteria which specified the period (2016-2017) which these awards focussed on,” Lowole said.

Lowole said the relationship that NMA has fostered with the sponsors is a true reflection of how these awards have been accepted by many who share NMA’s vision of recognising local talent.

“These awards were possible because of the trust that sponsors have in the organisers and NMA is looking forward to another successful awards show next year,” he said.

However, the organisers have bemoaned “deliberate false representation of issues” that arose after the awards show.

“We of course expected constructive criticism that would make the awards better. Unfortunately, most of what is reported is not a reflection of what actually happened,” he said.

Lowole singled out a claim by Musicians Association of Malawi (MUM) Chairperson Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango that NMA did not involve the union.

“We contacted the chairperson on January 18, 2017 and followed it up with an email which had details of the awards show but it is very unfortunate that to date, NMA has not received any response from Rev. Mhango or MUM,” he said.

Lowole also clarified that despite inviting musicians for rehearsals a day before the awards show, only three artists turned up.

“It was surprising that the artists who did not turn up complained in the print media that there was no equipment that would enable them to perform with a band yet those who came for rehearsals suggested additional instruments that would be used to make their performances lively,” he said.

The organisers also explained why Best Video Award was given to two artists Tay Grin and Malinga Mafia.

“After the aggregator informed us about the tie, we consulted two lawyers present at COMESA who advised that people with authority should cast their votes to break the tie. The people with authority made the decision to let the audience at COMESA to break the tie. However, when the sponsor of the category was on stage to announce the winner, the sponsor did not notice that there was a tie and the sponsor announced that Tay Grin was the winner,” he said adding that since Tay Grin had already collected the award, NMA decided that it would only be fair for the two artists to share the award.

Lowole stressed that every nominated artist was invited to the awards show but not everyone attended.

He hailed the media, including Nyasa Times, for its role in promoting local music through extensive coverage of up and coming artists, established musicians and entertainment events.

“Promoting local talent is the vision that NMA shares and we appreciate the coverage that NMA received. We expect the media to present the truth by balancing the stories, doing proper research and seeking clarification if necessary,” Lowole said.

The next Nyasa Music Awards show is expected to take place in May, 2018 but the date is yet to be announced.  Some of the sponsors of this year’s show were Times TV, Nyasa Times, Capital Radio, Power 101 FM, Red Ink Media, Entertainers Promotions, Dusk Till Dawn, Malawi Airlines, Nyasa Manufacturing Company and Options Stores.

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