PAM Awards have grown
Oct 25, 2006
THE fourth edition of the Pearl of Africa Music (PAM) Awards’ grand finale will be held this Saturday, October 28 at the Lugogo Cricket oval. <b>Joseph Batte</b> analyses the growth pattern and explains why the awards are a force to be reckoned with.
THE fourth edition of the Pearl of Africa Music (PAM) Awards’ grand finale will be held this Saturday, October 28 at the Lugogo Cricket oval. Joseph Batte analyses the growth pattern and explains why the awards are a force to be reckoned with.
When the PAM Awards were first introduced in 2003, many lauded them as a noble idea that would go a long way in developing the Ugandan music industry.
A few pessimists also sniped at them, saying they were nothing but a money-making adventure that would not benefit the local artistes. They predicted the wards would not survive for 12 months! Reason? Poor African organisation!
Four years later, there are still no signs they will collapse under the heavy weight of ‘poor African organisation’. They have, instead, defied all mockery and continued to grow and grow. The number of registered artistes has shot to over 1,500. This year, the PAM Awards have taken everyone by surprise by going regional, bringing on board Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
“Ugandans think that everything done by themselves is poor. If it is done abroad, then it is better. This is reflective of the colonial hangover that we are still suffering from,†comments Isaac Mulindwa, the chairman, PAM Awards committee.
“The expansion of the PAM Awards is not by luck. It was planned right from the beginning, that is why we chose to call them the Pearl of Africa Music Awards. We would have gone for a name like Ugandan Music Awards,†he adds.
“However, if we dared say in 2003 that we are going to expand to the entire East African region and finally across Africa, we would have been called mad,†Mulindwa says.
The long journey to greater heights started with the inaugural awards in 2003. That time, they were simply a Kampala-affair because most of the nominees and eventual winner came from the central region.
The following year, the awards were expanded to include western, eastern and northern regions. But at the finals at Speke Resort Munyonyo, many fans cried foul when East World won everything on offer. It turned out that Busoga had voted overwhelmingly for their sons while the central region seemed to forget that the winner would be determined by an SMS vote.
To plug the loopholes, the committee introduced a panel of nine judges who would constitute 60% of the votes while votes by the general public made up the remaining 40%.
This year, the focus shifted from Ugandan to neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The search for Western Artistes of the Year was also expanded from Mbarara to Fort Portal while the hunt for the Northern Artiste of they Year took the committee to the musically uncharted territory of Lira.
Starved of quality entertainment, a big crowd braved the chilly weather and flooded the Fort Portal launch on April 22.
Unfortunately, as the guest artistes were strutting their stuff on stage, the heavens opened up. The visitors from Kampala scrambled for cover, but Fort Portal revellers refused to move.
In Mbale, the weather was also suitable for ducks. But a large crowd of fans, some travelling from as far away as Karamoja, refused to be deterred by the weather. They swarmed Mbale Resort Hotel’s garden and partied till 3:00am as rain steadily poured!
The eastern launch in Jinja that was held on June 3 at the Crested Crane Hotel pulled one of the biggest crowds and unveiled some very outstanding talent that will give Kampala-based artistes a run for their money in a not-too-distant future.
The southwestern PAM awards launch in Mbarara moved from the protected walls of Vision Empire discotheque to the streets.
The best ever PAM award launch took place in Lira on June 24. Since the region has often appeared in the press as war-torn, the PAM awards committee put faith in the local organisers and fixed the entry fee at sh3,000. It was a grave error by the committee that is renowned for their organisation. The committee members were completely caught off guard, when the whole of Lira turned up that day.
A mammoth crowd turned up at Lira Hotel. The big crowd overwhelmed Police. Military Police from the nearby army barracks was called in to help. The entry fee was hiked from sh3,000 to sh5,000 but it could not help curb the large flow. Desperate to catch the action in the hotel gardens, Lira fans decided to jump over the walls.
When it was announced that the PAM Awards were to be launched in Kenya on May 25 at the famous Carnivore Restaurant Grounds, the pessimistic Ugandan press did not know the reception that the ‘awards from Uganda’ would receive. Other expected the awards to be sneered. After all, Kenya has always been far ahead of Uganda in almost everything —music, organisation, the economy.
However, after watching the video clips of the PAM award launches and finals, the Kenyans were so impressed by the sheer quality of the organisation, presentation and artistes’ performances.
They concluded: “You guys are five years ahead of us.†The following day, Standard newspaper also paid glowing tribute to the PAM Awards for being the ‘first Ugandan company to spread the awards in the region.’
Rwanda was just too happy to receive the PAM awards on June 14. There is nothing like an award in their country, yet it brims with talented artistes too. “This is the opportunity we were waiting for,†said some Rwandese artistes in very fluent Luganda.
The Tanzania launch at the Royal Palm Beach Hotel, Dar es Salaam, on August 3, was largely a muted affair because the Tanzanians were scared that their Kiri Awards would be overshadowed by the PAM awards. But after getting reassurances from Mulindwa that the awards would in no way harm the Kiri Awards, instead they would bond the people of the four nations together in line with the looming East African Federation, they decided to join.
The rapid expansion of the PAM awards would still be a far-fetched dream had it not been for the financial support from the sponsors — Bell and Celtel.
“Since we have been part and parcel of Uganda’s music story for the last 50 years, we share the PAM awards’ vision,†said the managing director of Uganda Breweries Baker Magunda.
His company has not only sponsored individual talent like Bebe Cool and Afrigo Band but over the years, it has carted in music stars of international repute like Lucky Dube, Aswad, Sean Paul and Kanda Bongoman.
“We have done our responsibility as sponsors. It is now up to Ugandan artistes to explore the markets that will be opened up in those countries,†Magunda said.
Caesar Muloka, the marketing director of Celtel, says: “As a Pan-African brand, we are very supportive of the PAM Awards growth. We will use every resource at our disposal to see that the vision of expanding across Africa becomes a reality sooner or later because the wider the awards grow, the better for us too.â€
“Ugandans and those in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda should now think of exploiting the new markets and competing internationally,†she added.
However, despite the steady growth, the PAM awards still continue to come under a heavy barrage of criticism from some disgruntled artistes and sections of the press.
Mulindwa says: “There will always be room for improvement as we grow. We do listen to constructive criticism and try to adjust accordingly. However, most of the criticism we get is often way off the mark. It is still surprising that to date, many people, including some artistes themselves, don’t know how the PAM awards are conducted. But we will certainly get there. Remember Rome was not built in a day.â€
When the PAM Awards were first introduced in 2003, many lauded them as a noble idea that would go a long way in developing the Ugandan music industry.
A few pessimists also sniped at them, saying they were nothing but a money-making adventure that would not benefit the local artistes. They predicted the wards would not survive for 12 months! Reason? Poor African organisation!
Four years later, there are still no signs they will collapse under the heavy weight of ‘poor African organisation’. They have, instead, defied all mockery and continued to grow and grow. The number of registered artistes has shot to over 1,500. This year, the PAM Awards have taken everyone by surprise by going regional, bringing on board Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
“Ugandans think that everything done by themselves is poor. If it is done abroad, then it is better. This is reflective of the colonial hangover that we are still suffering from,†comments Isaac Mulindwa, the chairman, PAM Awards committee.
“The expansion of the PAM Awards is not by luck. It was planned right from the beginning, that is why we chose to call them the Pearl of Africa Music Awards. We would have gone for a name like Ugandan Music Awards,†he adds.
“However, if we dared say in 2003 that we are going to expand to the entire East African region and finally across Africa, we would have been called mad,†Mulindwa says.
The long journey to greater heights started with the inaugural awards in 2003. That time, they were simply a Kampala-affair because most of the nominees and eventual winner came from the central region.
The following year, the awards were expanded to include western, eastern and northern regions. But at the finals at Speke Resort Munyonyo, many fans cried foul when East World won everything on offer. It turned out that Busoga had voted overwhelmingly for their sons while the central region seemed to forget that the winner would be determined by an SMS vote.
To plug the loopholes, the committee introduced a panel of nine judges who would constitute 60% of the votes while votes by the general public made up the remaining 40%.
This year, the focus shifted from Ugandan to neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The search for Western Artistes of the Year was also expanded from Mbarara to Fort Portal while the hunt for the Northern Artiste of they Year took the committee to the musically uncharted territory of Lira.
Starved of quality entertainment, a big crowd braved the chilly weather and flooded the Fort Portal launch on April 22.
Unfortunately, as the guest artistes were strutting their stuff on stage, the heavens opened up. The visitors from Kampala scrambled for cover, but Fort Portal revellers refused to move.
In Mbale, the weather was also suitable for ducks. But a large crowd of fans, some travelling from as far away as Karamoja, refused to be deterred by the weather. They swarmed Mbale Resort Hotel’s garden and partied till 3:00am as rain steadily poured!
The eastern launch in Jinja that was held on June 3 at the Crested Crane Hotel pulled one of the biggest crowds and unveiled some very outstanding talent that will give Kampala-based artistes a run for their money in a not-too-distant future.
The southwestern PAM awards launch in Mbarara moved from the protected walls of Vision Empire discotheque to the streets.
The best ever PAM award launch took place in Lira on June 24. Since the region has often appeared in the press as war-torn, the PAM awards committee put faith in the local organisers and fixed the entry fee at sh3,000. It was a grave error by the committee that is renowned for their organisation. The committee members were completely caught off guard, when the whole of Lira turned up that day.
A mammoth crowd turned up at Lira Hotel. The big crowd overwhelmed Police. Military Police from the nearby army barracks was called in to help. The entry fee was hiked from sh3,000 to sh5,000 but it could not help curb the large flow. Desperate to catch the action in the hotel gardens, Lira fans decided to jump over the walls.
When it was announced that the PAM Awards were to be launched in Kenya on May 25 at the famous Carnivore Restaurant Grounds, the pessimistic Ugandan press did not know the reception that the ‘awards from Uganda’ would receive. Other expected the awards to be sneered. After all, Kenya has always been far ahead of Uganda in almost everything —music, organisation, the economy.
However, after watching the video clips of the PAM award launches and finals, the Kenyans were so impressed by the sheer quality of the organisation, presentation and artistes’ performances.
They concluded: “You guys are five years ahead of us.†The following day, Standard newspaper also paid glowing tribute to the PAM Awards for being the ‘first Ugandan company to spread the awards in the region.’
Rwanda was just too happy to receive the PAM awards on June 14. There is nothing like an award in their country, yet it brims with talented artistes too. “This is the opportunity we were waiting for,†said some Rwandese artistes in very fluent Luganda.
The Tanzania launch at the Royal Palm Beach Hotel, Dar es Salaam, on August 3, was largely a muted affair because the Tanzanians were scared that their Kiri Awards would be overshadowed by the PAM awards. But after getting reassurances from Mulindwa that the awards would in no way harm the Kiri Awards, instead they would bond the people of the four nations together in line with the looming East African Federation, they decided to join.
The rapid expansion of the PAM awards would still be a far-fetched dream had it not been for the financial support from the sponsors — Bell and Celtel.
“Since we have been part and parcel of Uganda’s music story for the last 50 years, we share the PAM awards’ vision,†said the managing director of Uganda Breweries Baker Magunda.
His company has not only sponsored individual talent like Bebe Cool and Afrigo Band but over the years, it has carted in music stars of international repute like Lucky Dube, Aswad, Sean Paul and Kanda Bongoman.
“We have done our responsibility as sponsors. It is now up to Ugandan artistes to explore the markets that will be opened up in those countries,†Magunda said.
Caesar Muloka, the marketing director of Celtel, says: “As a Pan-African brand, we are very supportive of the PAM Awards growth. We will use every resource at our disposal to see that the vision of expanding across Africa becomes a reality sooner or later because the wider the awards grow, the better for us too.â€
“Ugandans and those in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda should now think of exploiting the new markets and competing internationally,†she added.
However, despite the steady growth, the PAM awards still continue to come under a heavy barrage of criticism from some disgruntled artistes and sections of the press.
Mulindwa says: “There will always be room for improvement as we grow. We do listen to constructive criticism and try to adjust accordingly. However, most of the criticism we get is often way off the mark. It is still surprising that to date, many people, including some artistes themselves, don’t know how the PAM awards are conducted. But we will certainly get there. Remember Rome was not built in a day.â€