Samas due for a 'major overhaul' after harsh criticism

A few days have passed since the Samas but the awards are still the talk of the town with no good reviews in sight. 

 Zakes Bantwini who scored his first Sama win after 15 years in the music industry shared on his Instagram timeline recently that what was supposed to be an exciting night for him left him shocked and disappointed.

“After 15 years of a career I have given my life to, I earn my first two awards. After over 28 nominations and years of being overlooked I finally checked a major milestone in my career.

“Regrettably the Samas have broken our trust, they have devalued the honour and prestige, which the awards once stood for. There is no integrity in the way in which the show is being produced, the planning, the awarding of artists & in extending the basic courtesy of respect to the artist,” he wrote.

RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi, reflecting on the 28th instalment of the Samas, said he felt an urgent need to issue a statement after the comments he received. 

He thanked the team for sourcing funding after two years of award ceremonies being delivered in a virtual format. 

“The Samas rely on a system in which our members (record companies and artist-led labels) review, amend and confirm the rules, categories and judges. This system is reviewed annually by our members and artists during a town-hall meeting. However, in the past two years this review process and engagements with artists has been less than optimal due to Covid-19 restrictions and some of the gaps left open by lack of adequate engagements are now glaring.

“As a result, I have started direct engagements with record companies and artists, and I will be proposing a major overhaul of our structure, systems and processes in the coming weeks and will make the necessary announcements before the end of September.”

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