by Thinus Ferreira
After an absence of half a decade the SABC is bringing back the Metro FM Music Awards, with the music awards ceremony known as the MMAs which will take place on 29 April in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.
The 17th Metro FM Awards will be done as a live awards show broadcast on SABC1 and will also be streamed on SABC+ as well as Metro FM's YouTube channel.
The Metro FM Awards last took place in 2017 in Durban and was overshadowed by controversy and claims of corruption after the late artist Riky Rick slammed radio stations for their apparent lack of support of local musicians and claimed that South African record companies were "buying" awards.
During his acceptance speech for Best Hit Single, Riky Rick had his mic cut off when he said "90 percent of the shit I hear on radio is garbage. So if you're a kid and you're watching this right now, forget radio. If they don't let you play on radio, you better go to the internet and let your songs pop on the internet".
Metro FM says the aim of the awards is to reward "excellence in the music industry" and that the 2023 awards ceremony is "designed to stimulate interest by unearthing talent and promoting development".
The Metro FM Awards has opened an online call to entry which will run until 28 February, with 20 categories which will be awarded to singles and albums which were released between 28 February 2022 and 28 February 2023.
"We are excited to bring back one of the SABC’s biggest events that is loved by the millions of our audiences. This event has grown to be embraced by the industry and surely has made an indelible mark, hence the demand for it remained high even at the time of its short break," says Nada Wotshela, SABC radio boss.
"We have held this event in different provinces and we are delighted they have
returned to Mpumalanga and are looking forward to an exhilarating event."
