THE re-launch of the Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA) last week in Harare and the coming on board of the WENE music awards is the tonic for a music industry long slandered for not doing enough to honour artistes.
After several years depending on the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) as the major platform for rewarding artistes in Zimbabwe, it is expected that the comeback of the ‘new kids on the block’ (ZIMA and WENE) will take the arts industry to the next level.
Although there are other several awards that honour different music genres, they have failed to match the desired standards of honouring artistes thus their existence has been ‘worthless’ according to some people.
ZIMA faded in 2007 from the music scene after it failed to cope with the hard economic situation caused by the illegal economic sanctions imposed against the country by the West and its allies.
Zimbabwe’s ‘crime’ was implementing the highly successful Land Reform Programme.
Since then promises were made that ZIMA would be revived, but the organisers failed to take off.
Speaking at the ZIMA re-launch, Joseph Nyadzayo, the chairman of ZIMA, said the economic challenges that faced the country around 2007 caused the collapse of the awards.
However, he said good times were set to roll again for the music industry as his organisation has come with a better and bigger package.
“We are really sorry for the seven years that we have been out of the radar, but it was not of our making and as I stand before you, I reaffirm that the awards are back and they are back for good,” Nyadzayo said.
Previously, winners at ZIMA would walk away with nothing to show for it, resulting in the awards being deemed ‘worthless’.
However, Nyadzayo said this would be a thing of the past, adding that transparency would reign at ZIMA.
He said it was important to avoid controversy at the awards that will be held on a date to be announced.
“Most of the time, awards in this country are marred by controversy so we want to involve everyone in this edition of the awards as we will in all future editions,” said Nyadzayo.
“That way, we intend to remove all doubt and questions regarding our awards.”
Since 2007, it was only earlier this year when Rooftop Promotions which was once part and parcel of ZIMA that came back with the introduction of the WENE music awards.
So could it be by coincidence that the ZIMA and WENE awards were all re-launched and launched respectively this year?
Whatever the reasons, the existence of both the WENE and ZIMA awards should bring positives in Zimbabwe’s arts industry.
It is time the music industry in Zimbabwe is taken seriously because it is growing bigger by the day as many artistes are emerging from different parts of the country.
Analysts contend that the corporate world and stakeholders in the country must chip in with financial assistance in order to come up with world class awards for artistes.
The adjudicators, they said, should not be biased.
In this regard, well organised awards do not only recognise the work of an artiste, but work as a marketing platform for that same artiste to be acknowledged not only in Zimbabwe, but internationally.
Both the organisers of the WENE and ZIMA should make it mandatory for the awards to match international standards, in the same vein motivating artistes to produce quality work.
Artistes that attended the ZIMA re-launch included Albert Nyati, Desmond ‘Stunner’ Chideme, Rockford ‘Roki’ Josphats and Pa Chihera among others.
It was a scintillating ceremony.