| Ghoema Music Awards | |
| Awarded For: | Excellence in the Afrikaans music industry |
| Presenter: | Ghoema Music Trust |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Year: | 11 March 2012 |
The Ghoema Music Awards is an annual South African award ceremony that recognises outstanding achievement in the Afrikaans music industry. It is the only independent music award ceremony of its kind in South Africa. The event was established in 2012 and the awards are presented by the Ghoema Trust. The ceremony is held in March every year, and contenders are judged on performances made in the previous year. The show broadcasts on KykNET.
The awards were founded in 2012 by Barry Pretorius.
The Ghoema Music Award came under heavy criticism in 2019 when the decision was made to remove the hit song "Die Land", sung by various artists, thereby blocking any recognition the song has achieved. The public was outraged and peer artists who won at the Awards made it clear that "Die Land" would have won was it not for political meddling in Afrikaans music by the Ghoemas. A rival music Award event was organised by civil society and in October 2019 the new music award event named, Aitsas, was held and all artists were included. "Die Land" did win that year at the Aitsas.
A ghoema (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈɡuma/) is a barrel-shaped drum, originally played by Cape Malay people and commonly associated with the Cape Minstrels. It produces rhythmic sounds and beats that are uplifting, and described by the Minstrels as colourful.
The Ghoema Music Awards ("Ghoemas") are the official independent awards ceremony where artists, bands, musicians and songwriters of the Afrikaans music industry are honoured for certain achievements over a specific period.
The Ghoemas function without the attribution of any exclusive brands or copyrights and are independent of the national press, media, and record companies. Record companies and the press and media work together in partnership to promote the Ghoema Music Awards, ensure that the awards are executed and to ensure that the awards get the necessary exposure as agreed upon by all parties involved.
The Ghoema Music Awards accolades are made after a free and fair consistent enrolment process,nominations, followed by a voting process which includes public voting and a judging panel consisting of industry experts. An accredited auditing firm is responsible for all ballot papers, from both the elected judges and public votes, to ensure the voting process is transparent.
The Ghoema Music Trust owns and manages the Ghoema Music Awards. Therefore, the awards ceremony and winners are beneficiaries of the trust.
The Trustees of The Ghoema Music Trust are represented by the following individuals:[1]
The first Ghoema Afrikaans Music Awards ceremony was held on 11 March 2012 at Carnival City, Johannesburg, South Africa to honour musical accomplishments by performers in the Afrikaans market for the year 2011.
The Ghoema Awards conferred the following awards during the 2012 Ghoema Afrikaanse Musiek Toekenings awards ceremony: