Call to enter 16th SAMAs

The SAMAs have become the country's premier annual music awards ceremony, recognising musical excellence across all genres, from traditional, to Afrikaans, to rock and pop, as well as paying tribute to the various facets of musical production, including production, engineering and video production.

The countdown to the 16th Annual MTN South African Music Awards, taking place in April 2010, has officially begun! Bigger and better, the MTN SAMAs in 2010 will expand on the platform based on a philosophy of inclusiveness that recognises, celebrates and rewards excellence in South Africa's diverse and colourful recording industry. Entries for the awards have opened and participants have to enter before the closing date on Friday, 27 November 2009.

Support from MTN and SABC1

Once again, MTN is the title sponsor of the SAMAs, making it the company's seventh consecutive year as proud supporter of the South African Music Awards, and in association with SABC 1, MTN SAMA's loyal and long-standing broadcast partner, the event will be televised live from the Sun City Superbowl on Saturday, 17 April 2010.

With the exception of the categories Best Selling Album, Best Selling DVD, Best Selling Download, the Lifetime Achievement Award, Music Video of the Year, Remixer of the Year and Record of the Year, entries need to have been released between 29 November, 2008 and 27 November, 2009 in order for them to be eligible for judging. Entries must be submitted via the online entry system, which is accessible on the official MTN SAMA 16 website at www.samusicawards.co.za.