How it Works

Rule Book

The Platinum Music Awards (PLAMAS) aim to honour and celebrate excellence in music for artists from North West province in a specific period and category. The awards are organised and hosted by KST Multimedia.

How it works

Platinum Music Awards Rule Book

Introduction: The Platinum Music Awards (Plamas) aim to honour and celebrate excellence in music for artists from North West province in a specific period and category. The awards are organised and hosted by KST Productions.

The inaugural Plamas will consider music released from 1 January 2018 until 30 December 2020. A panel of music, art and culture experts in the North West province will vet and adjudicate the eligible releases and shortlist five of the best in each category using a weighting criterion. The criterion is artistic/creative excellence, production value, entertainment value, popularity and prominence in North West province.

The final five will be announced as nominees and put out for public voting. The artist/project with the highest votes will be announced as the winner on the day of the Plamas.

Eligibility: Qualifying musicians must be South African citizens born, or raised, or live in present day North West province. Artists who have been granted permanent resident status in North West for a minimum of six months will be eligible. In the case of doubt, a musician will be expected to produce a birth certificate or an affidavit to prove his or her place of birth or a Permanent Residence permit.

The artist must own or control the master recording of the project concerned.

An album is a release that is available commercially with no less than five original tracks and not remixes. 50% of the release should be new music and not re-released music from ‘best of’ compilations. In genre specific categories, 70% of the music must be relevant to the genre.

Prizes

Cash prizes and statuettes engraved with the names of the winners will be awarded to winners.

Broadcast and Exploitation Rights

In the marketing, advertising and production of the Plamas, nominees warrant KST the following: The right to use a photograph of each nominee and winner, along with his or her name, likeness and biographical details. The right to use sound recordings from the album/video.

Categories

  • Best Album – the nominees must be shortlisted for their excellence regardless of the genre and the winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Female Artist – the nominees must be solo female recording artists regardless of the genre and the winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Male Artist – the nominees must be solo male recording artists regardless of the genre and the winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Newcomer – the nominees must be debutants who have never earned royalties from their album sales regardless of the genre. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Duo/Group – the nominees must record/perform collectively regardless of the genre. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Dance Album – the nominees must be artists who perform, compose or produce dance music. Not more than 30% of the music may be licensed tracks. Subgenres of electro and house music qualify under this category. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best African Pop Album – the nominees must perform pop music mostly in indigenous South African language(s). The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Afrikaans Pop Album – the nominees must perform pop music mostly in Afrikaans language. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Traditional Album – the nominees must perform traditional music in indigenous South African language(s). The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Kwaito Album – the nominees must perform kwaito music including subgenres of amapiano and gqom. Not more than 30% of the music may be licensed tracks. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Collaboration – A minimum of 50% of the members must be North West residents. In the case of interprovincial/international collaborations, the local musician should be afforded an equal billing. The nomination may be for an album or a single regardless of the genre. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Producer – the nominees must have made a creative contribution to the body of work of artists in the capacity of producer regardless of the genre. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Jazz Album – the nominees must perform jazz music characterised by improvisation, melody, swings, syncopation with emphasis on notes and cords. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Rap Album – the nominees must perform music identified as hip-hop, trap and other subgenres. A vocal quota of 70% should be met and not more than 30% of the music may be licensed tracks. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best R&B/Soul/Reggae Album – the nominees must perform R&B or Soul or Reggae music regardless of the language. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Traditional Faith Album – the nominees must perform traditional faith based music regardless of the language. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Music Video – the nominees must have produced a music video of the highest quality, regardless of the genre or the language used. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Lifetime Achievement – there are no nominees for this category. The panel of judges must decide on recipients based on their contributions to music in North West province. The recipients must have been in the music industry for no less than 20 years and must have made efforts towards development and upliftment of the music industry in the province. The award may be presented posthumously.
  • Song of the Year – the nominees must perform the biggest songs in the North West music industry regardless of the genre or language. The winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Gospel Album – the nominees must be shortlisted for their excellence in Gospel Music and the winner must earn the most votes from the public vote.
  • Best Radio Presenter – The radio station must be a local radio station in the north west. The winner must earn most votes from public votes
  • Best Community Radio Station – The Radio station must be a community radio station from the North West. The winner must earn most votes from public votes

General rules

By accepting the nomination, the artist agrees to abide by the rules of Plamas.