West Africa leads in AFRIMA entries

The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) 2021 edition received  8,800 entries with West Africa leading with 30.4%, followed by Eastern Africa with 28.8%. Southern Africa, Central Africa and North Africa and international acts have 22.9%, 12.3%, 4.9% and 0.7% respectively.

The figures were confirmed by the Head of Communication and Partnership, AFRIMA, Zineb Seyad.

The continental award called for entries on June 1 and closed on August 20. So far, this is the highest number of entries  ever recorded since its inception in 2014. It was higher than the 2019 edition by 643. The awards didn’t hold last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year three new categories were added; Best Soundtrack in a Movie/Series/Documentary film, Best Global Act, and Breakout Artiste of the Year (Renaming Most Promising Artist).

Entries were received from 50 African countries across the five regions of Africa and 10 countries from Europe and North America including Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), France, Portugal, among others.

“The increased interest in the awards is a clear indication that AFRIMA, a platform of bringing Africans together through the instrumentality of music and culture, is growing immensely across Africa and globally, which is a very important goal for us. Also, it is a signal that artists and actors in the music industry are becoming resilient in the face of global challenges,” says Head of Culture, African Union Commission, Angela Martins.

The submissions will be reviewed by a 13-man International Jury of AFRIMA and nominees revealed in the second week of September.