By Ken Asinobi
A groundbreaking year is in the offing for the music industry as BoomPlay, the world’s leading music streaming app, has joined the list of sponsors of the prestigious Galaxy Music Award (GMA) 2023.
Making the revelation while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Convener of the event which is in it’s fifth edition (Season 5), Azubike Stanley Amuchechukwu, said the show, is set to hold in December, 2023.
He said the partnership with BoomPlay has added a fresh twist to this year’s event, and would elevate the music celebration to unprecedented heights.
Azubike hinted that BoomPlay, renowned for its vast music library and commitment to promoting African music, is geared up to recognize and support exceptional music artists in the South-South and South-East regions of the country. “It’s a nod to the rich musical heritage of these regions, bringing their unique styles and cultural influences to the forefront of the music scene”, he said.
He went on, “One of the significant highlights of this partnership is that 50% of the voting would be done on BoomPlay App. BoomPlay would supervise the voting process.
“The collaboration with BoomPlay will help strengthen our International ties and export our music globally”.
He said a slew of enticing incentives have also been lined up for winners of the musical talents contest, such as recording contracts, performance gigs at prestigious venues, promotional opportunities, and professional music equipment.
The GMA Convener disclosed that there will be 30 categories of awards for this year. He added that five new categories has been introduced, namely, Best Bongo music, Best Ijaw music, Best Highlife music and Best Ogene music, noting that these were genres that have not been properly tapped.
He assured music fans across the regions that the criteria for nomination and selection of winners would as usual, be very transparent.
Azubike explained: “Every year, GMA calls for nomination and the audience, music artists and bloggers would submit names of artists they think would be eligible for nomination.
“In the past five years, we had set up what we call Faculty of Curators. These Curators consist of radio personalities, bloggers, DJs and people involved in musical production. They take a date, sit and scrutinize every nomination that have been sent in for nomination.
“They make the final selection from the pool of nominations that had been sent in overtime. When they are done, they send their final list to us .
“The Faculty of Curators come from the various states that form the two regions. They come from Enugu, Yenagoa, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Owerri Benin, Awka, Abakaliki, Uyo and other cities.
“After the nominations, the next process is voting which would be simultaneously done at NMA website and BoomPlay app”.
He said that the most voted artist will smile home with a brand new car, saying that the brand and model of the vehicle would be determined as the season unfolds. “Season four was a Lexus”.
On the side attractions, Azubike said he looks forward to having the likes of Sabinus, Odumodublvck and Ebuka of Big Brother Naija fame as co-hosts.
As the music world eagerly awaits the 2023 Galaxy Music Awards, the collaboration between BoomPlay and the awards organizers promises an electrifying event.
With BoomPlay’s support, the awards aim to celebrate the essence of music, honor exceptional talent, and pave the way for a brighter future in the Nigerian music industry.