Charterhouse, Organisers of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) have introduced a new policy known as the “swing period,” aimed at giving songs released late in the year a fair chance of being considered for nominations in the following year.
Speaking at the nominee announcement for the 27th edition of the awards, Robert Klah, Head of Public Events and Communications for the scheme, explained that the initiative was introduced after extensive discussions by the TGMA board.
According to him, the swing period allows songs released close to the end of a calendar year, which may not initially gain enough traction, to be assessed in the following year if they go on to perform strongly within the industry.
“Last year, we had a discussion about something called a swing period,” he said. “The swing period means songs which are released close to the end of the year and may not necessarily have a lot of traction or mileage will have the opportunity to be considered in the following year if those songs play their part within the space.”
He added that the TGMA board has now formally adopted the policy as part of the awards scheme.
Klah revealed that “Excellent” by Kojo Blak and “Messiah” by Sarkodie benefited from the swing period rule.
“These songs were released close to the end of the previous year but based on the traction they gained throughout last year, they were considered fit to be nominated,” he explained.
He further indicated that the swing period will remain a permanent feature of the awards going forward.
“Going forward, this has become something new and it’s going to stay in the scheme. We hope artistes who release songs close to the end of the year will be able to benefit from the swing period if those songs gain significant traction in the year under review,” Klah noted.
Meanwhile, the race for the Artiste of the Year title at the 27th TGMA is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent years. The nominees include Black Sherif, Medikal, Stonebwoy, Wendy Shay, Sarkodie, and gospel star Diana Hamilton.
Story by Joseph Owusu Worae
