Zimbabwe Music Awards Opens Call for Submissions

The 2023 Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA) have been set for the 3rd of June and they’re going to be held at the 7 Arts Theatre, in Avondale, Harare.

The event will feature 25 categories with 24 being open to submission and The Lifetime Achievement Award being a special category not going through the normal nomination process.

Submissions will be open from 13 March until the 14th of April. Adjudication will follow from the 17th of April and nominees will announced at the beginning of May.

With the exception of the Song of the Year going for public poll, most ZIMA categories will be judged by a panel of judges. Every year, the makeup of the judging panel is revised. Taking into consideration their degree of competence in the pertinent areas as well as their overall understanding of the music business, members of the Supervisory Committee confirm them.

The entry period, which runs from January 1 to December 31, 2022, is when all recordings (singles and albums) submitted for ZIMA 2023 must have been first made available for purchase commercially in Zimbabwe.

Here are the categories for this year’s Zimbabwe Music Awards:

Song of the Year

Best Female Artist of the Year

Best Male Artist of the Year

Best Group/Duo of the Year

Best Newcomer of the Year

Best Album of the Year

Best Zimdancehall

Best Sungura

Best Afropop / Afrofusion

Best Hip Hop

Best Collaboration

Best Contemporary Gospel

Best Traditional Gospel

Best RnB & Soul

Best Jazz

Best Dance (House, Amapiano, Kwaito, EDM)

Best Tshibilika

Best Traditional (Chinyakare, Chimurenga)

Best Traditional (Folk, Ezomdabu, Imbube)

Best Alternative

Producer of the year

Best Music Video

Best Videographer

Best Diaspora Artist

Lifetime Achievement

Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA) is the only national and all- encompassing registered Music Awards institution in Zimbabwe that annually and consistently Recognise, Promote and Celebrate Musicians, their Music & the Music Support systems. The 2023 Awards Show will be ZIMA’s 9th edition.

You can find more information here or on social media @zimusicawards.