Afia Media Unveils Southeast Music Awards, Promises Transparent, Auditable Process

The Afia Media group has unveiled the South East Music Awards (SEMA), a new platform designed to celebrate and promote music, creativity and cultural influence in the region, promising a transparent and auditable award process.

Announcing the SEMA, on Friday, the Managing Director/CEO of Afia Media Group, Chief Emeka Mba said credibility would remain the central focus of the awards, stressing that the organisers would avoid practices that could create division or undermine confidence in the process.

He said they were still developing the committee that would review entri, ratherventually evolve into an “academy”, adding that music professionals, journalists and other industry stakeholders would be involved.

“We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have credibility in mind,” he said, adding that the composition of the academy would be communicated before the end of October.

According to him, 70 per cent of the voting would come from listeners and consumers of music products, while the entire process would be subjected to external auditing.

“The key for us is that the process has to be transparent. SEMA would adopt a broad geographical interpretation of the Eastern Nigeria, rather than restricting eligibility to the five states traditionally recognised as the geopolitical Southeast," he said

The MD said artists from the region would be eligible regardless of ethnicity, while artists based outside the region could also qualify if their music had significant impact in the area and attracted nominations from voters.

He explained that the organisers deliberately limited the initial categories to ensure they could deliver a credible first edition before expanding the awards in subsequent years.

Seven categories, including Music Video and Producer of the Year, are expected to be published on the SEMA website from Monday, alongside details of the nomination process.

He said record labels, artists and music promoters would be able to submit works for consideration, while the jury would be selected and made public at a later stage.

The MD said an external body would audit the voting and award process, with the results of the audit to be published.

He added that further engagements would be held with music industry stakeholders and the media before the announcement of final nominees.

The Brand and Business Development Manager of AfiaTV, Vera Chidimma Okoh, said the academy would comprise professionals drawn from across the region to minimise geographical bias.

She explained that each member of the academy would have a vote, with the voting structure designed to ensure that individual preferences could be balanced by the votes of other members.

Okoh said the same independent judging approach had been used for six editions of the organisation’s Life Progress awards, helping to build public confidence in the process.