Music Business Awards Africa is putting the industry behind the artists on stage

The first Music Business Awards Africa will announce its inaugural nominees on 23 September, shifting the spotlight from performers to the managers, publishers, lawyers, agencies and companies that build careers behind the scenes.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for 21 November at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria, with public voting in applicable categories set to run from 24 September to 15 November.

What landed

The premise is unusually specific for an African music awards platform. Rather than creating another ceremony dominated by artist and song categories, the MBAA is structured around the business infrastructure of music.

Its individual categories include Artist Manager of the Year, A&R Manager of the Year, Best Commercial Songwriter, Industry Champion, Young Legend and Best Artist Digital Presence. Company categories extend to independent labels, publishers, management companies, booking agencies, PR and marketing agencies, music education institutions and live-music businesses.

That focus matters because the growth of African music internationally has made the people behind successful releases more commercially important while leaving many of them largely invisible to the public.

A global breakout is rarely built by an artist alone. Managers negotiate strategy, publishers administer rights, A&R teams shape repertoire, lawyers structure agreements, publicists manage narratives, booking teams build touring markets and digital specialists convert attention into sustained audiences.

The awards are also positioning themselves as a career-development signal. For young South Africans considering work in music, the industry is often presented as a choice between becoming an artist, producer or DJ. A platform that publicly recognises the wider ecosystem makes the range of viable professions easier to see.

The eligibility period for the 2026 awards runs from 1 October 2025 to 28 August 2026. Nominees must be based in Africa, operate within Africa or demonstrate a measurable contribution to the African music business during that period.

The awards’ own rules also allow verification of submitted claims through rights organisations, labels, publishers, collection societies, digital service providers and other industry partners.

The credibility of the first edition will therefore depend heavily on the quality of the nominee list and the transparency of the judging process. A new awards brand can announce ambitious categories quickly; building industry trust takes longer.

The first real test arrives on 23 September when the nominees are revealed.

What is still open

The inaugural Music Business Awards Africa ceremony takes place on 21 November 2026 in Pretoria.