31st Annual South African Music Awards
| 31st South African Music Awards | |
|---|---|
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| Sponsored by |
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| Date | November 2025 |
| Country | South Africa |
| Presented by | Recording Industry of South Africa |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | |
The 31st Annual South African Music Awards (or SAMA31) were initially scheduled for the first half of 2025 but have been rescheduled to November 2025. Primarily sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation, the event is presented by the Recording Industry of South Africa. It will be broadcast live on YouTube and SABC1, honouring excellence in South African Music by celebrating the best albums, music videos, and songs released in South Africa between 16 April 2024 and 31 January 2025.
Background
The 31st Annual South African Music Awards (SAMA31) celebrates the excellency in South African music and honours the best music videos, albums and songs commercially released in the country during the period 16 April 2024 to 31 January 2025.[1] Entries for nomination consideration were open from 10 December 2024 to 31 January.[2] For members of the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), the entry fee for an individual or entity was R862.50 ($58.36), and for non-members it was R4,600.00 ($311.23) including value-added tax per entry for all categories.[1] The RiSA extended the entry period to 10 February 2025, due to various requests from the industry.[3]
The Public Voting Categories, Record of the Year and Music Video of the Year were not open for submissions. Record of the Year nominees were selected using a weighted formula combining airplay (tracked by Radiomonitor) and streams (from the Official South African Charts) to determine the top 20 songs. Music Video of the Year nominees were chosen based on the most-played music videos (excluding visualiser) from RiSA Audio Visual Licensing NPC and YouTube data, collected between 16 April 2024, and 31 January 2025.[1]
The South African Music Awards (SAMAs) have struggled to secure sponsorship since MTN ended its partnership in 2014. The SAMAs signed a three-year contract with the Motsepe Foundation in 2023, which sponsored the ceremonies in 2023 and 2024, with 2025 marking their final year. To attract new sponsors, the SAMAs' spokesperson, Lesley Mofokeng told The Citizen that the SAMA31 will take place in the first half of 2025, the first since 2019.[4] In August 2025, RiSA announced that the event was rescheduled to November 2025, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, CAPASSO, SAMRO, SAMPRA, and SABC as a media partner.[5] They also confirmed no red carpet event would occur, with nominations to be announced virtually on the SAMAs' social media platforms on 28 August 2025, from 18:00 to 19:00 South Africa Standard Time (UTC+02:00).[6]
Nominees
Below is the list of nominees. Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
Top 5 Categories
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Female Artist of the Year
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Male Artist of the Year
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Album genre super categories
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Best Rock Album
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Best Pop Album
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Beste Pop Album
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Best Adult Contemporary Album (English)
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Beste Kontemporêre Musiek Album
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Best African Adult Contemporary Album
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Best Alternative Album
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Best R&B/Soul Album
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Best Hip Hop Album
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Best Kwaito Album
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Best Amapiano Album
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Best Gqom Album
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Best Dance Album
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Best Traditional Faith Album
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Best Contemporary Faith Music Album
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Best African Indigenous Faith Music Album
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Best Traditional Album
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Best Maskandi Album
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Best Jazz Album
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Best Classical/Instrumental Album
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Best Afro Pop Album
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Best Reggae Album
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Technical categories
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Best Produced Music Video
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Best Produced Album
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Best Engineered Album
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Remix of the Year
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Best Collaboration
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Public vote
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Record of the Year
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Special awards
In the list below, winners are highlighted in bold where necessary.
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Lifetime Achievement Award
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International Achievement Award
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Chairperson's Award
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Most Streamed Song of the Year
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Rest of Africa Award
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Prizes
The cash prizes awarded to the winners of the Annual South African Music Awards. Adapted from the SAMA31 general rules booklet.[1]
| Awards | Prizes | |
|---|---|---|
| ZAR | USD | |
| Top 5 categories | 15 000 | 1014.88 |
| Album of the Year | 25 000 | 1691.47 |
| Genre categories | 10 000 | 676.59 |
| Chairman's Award | 20 000 | 1353.18 |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | ||
| International Achievement Award | ||
| Technical awards | 10 000 | 676.59 |
| Best-selling awards | ||
| Album of the Decade | 20 000 | 1353.18 |
| Record of the Decade | ||
| Public vote categories | ||
| Most Streamed Song of the Year | 10 000 | 676.59 |
References
- ^ a b c d "The 31st Annual South African Music Awards | General Rules" (PDF). South African Music Awards. Recording Industry of South Africa. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
- ^ Miller, Sergio (11 December 2024). "SAMAs to shake things up with new changes in 2025". Bona. Archived from the original on 11 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ^ "Extended Entry Period #SAMA31". South African Music Awards. 1 February 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Tiwane, Bonginkosi (10 December 2024). "Samas change 2025 edition date as organisers try to secure additional sponsors". The Citizen. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ "SAMA31 Nominees Announcement Press Release". Recording Industry of South Africa. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "Fans slam SAMAS bosses!". SNL24. City Press. 14 August 2025. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.