Total Music Group Promises Best BOMU Awards Ever
Spira Tlhankane | Monday April 19, 2021 12:52
Speaking during the awards launch recently, the founder of Total Music Group, Seabelo Modibe said when he decided to take over the awards, he swore to focus on the creative part in order to win back the confidence of the people in relation to the awards and the brand.
Modibe revealed that for the first time they have proper rules and regulations of the awards. He said they will listen to musicians’ albums beforehand and place them in the right categories. “We have trimmed down the awards to 30 categories and we have introduced new categories as well, and the new categories are: Best Remixes and Best International Achievement awards.
We have top 6 awards being: Album of the Year, Best Newcomer, Song of the Year, Best Male Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Musical Duo/Group,” he announced.
Modibe also said artists with most points from other categories will automatically qualify to compete for some of the top 6 categories.
He further revealed that for a person to win a BOMU award, they should have released an album therefore singles will only be considered in the Song of the Year category.
“We are not running people’s choice awards,” he said. He also announced that for the Song of the Year they will look at how the song has done in music digital platforms such as iTunes, Spotify and others.
Modibe said they will enhance the essence of the trophies given to the artists as awards. “We are giving the artists flowers for the first time,” he added. He said all BOMU members qualify to compete in the awards but non-members will have to pay P500.
He said they will enter into a memorandum of agreement with Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) so that when the South African Music Awards (SAMAs) come in May, a local company, which will be responsible for sound, stage and lighting will attend the ceremony to benchmark.
“Out of our budget for the first time the awards will employ 219 people,” he said. Modibe also said the sponsorship of the awards will be announced on May 1, 2021 and it will be a huge figure. “As Total Music Group we have changed the business model of the awards from a prize giving event into a world class ceremony. We have changed the way the awards are going to be marketed and judged. We are going to have 30 judges and they will not know each other,” he further revealed.
BOMU President, Fresh Lesokwane, said they have not contracted nor given Modibe the awards tender as people think, but rather they have appointed his company to help organise the awards. This comes few months after some BOMU members condemned their union’s decision to appoint Total Music Group as the BOMU Music Awards Consulting Firm.
BOMU has since suspended duo, Trinity Mpho and Mmapula Charity Moatswi for allegedly condemning the union’s decision.