The Metro FM Music Awards were first held in 2000. They were considered as prestigious as an artist receiving a South African Music Awards (SAMAs) at the height of the popularity of the awards. However, in 2017, the popular radio station would host the finale edition of the music awards.
At the time, it was believed that the halting of the award ceremony was due to the station facing financial difficulties. While the matter was unconfirmed, it was believed that they were scheduled to return in 2019 after a year’s hiatus. However, they did not and in the years that followed, the country had the pandemic to face.
CONFIRMED: Metro FM Music Awards return after five year break
However, recently, the radio station had taken to its social media to tease a “big announcement.” The announcement was teased for Wednesday, 18 January 2023.
“We are excited to bring back one of the SABC’s biggest events that is loved by millions of our audiences. This event has grown to be embraced by the industry and surely has made an indelible mark, hence the demand for it remained high even at the time of its short break. This property presents a great opportunity to amplify the SABC’s brand equity and strengthen our efforts of taking SABC brands to the people”.
Moreover, it confirmed that submissions for the upcoming MMAs are already open from Thursday, 19 January 2023 and will be closed on Tuesday, 28 February 2023. Eligible submissions are music and music videos which were released between 28 February 2022 and 28 February 2023.
As to when the actual ceremony is set to take place, the statement did share that:
“The renowned glamourous awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on 29 April 2023, and will be hosted by the City of Mbombela, Mpumalanga. The ceremony will be broadcast live on SABC1 and supported by various SABC radio stations. The awards will also be streamed live on SABC Plus and METRO FM’s YouTube channel.”
As such, the Head of Department for Culture, Sport and Recreation, Mr. Godfrey Ntombela spoke on the MMAs returning to Mpumalanga with their return by sharing that:
“We are delighted to welcome the METRO FM Music Awards back to Mpumalanga Province. We strongly believe that this event will reignite tourism and the fact that we are the host Province again is an indication that our Province is a perfect destination for tourism and cultural activities. The opportunity to host this major event comes at the right time and we are hopeful that it will benefit the creative industry that is still reeling from the dire effects of COVID-19”.
Those interested in submitting their music for consideration are directed to Metro FM’s website to submit their music and music videos. There are 20 categories which are touted for interested parties to stand a chance to win an award for during the upcoming 18th edition of the MMAs.
