The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has announced a record-breaking 10,717 entries for its 2025 edition, up from 9,076 submissions in the previous year, marking the highest in the awards’ history. AFRIMA described the surge as proof of its growing influence as Africa’s leading platform for discovering, celebrating, and promoting African music globally.
The submission window, which opened on May 27 and closed on August 8 at 23:59 GMT, welcomed songs, albums, and music videos from across Africa and beyond. Entries came from artistes, songwriters, producers, video directors, DJs, dancers, choreographers, record labels, and emerging talents. West Africa led with 5,215 entries (48.68%), followed by Southern Africa with 2,080 (19.42%), Eastern Africa with 804 (7.50%), Central Africa with 291 (2.72%), Northern Africa with 267 (2.49%), and Africans in the diaspora with 75 entries (0.70%).
A 13-member international jury of music industry experts from across Africa and the diaspora began adjudication on August 8 in Lagos. The process, which runs until August 17, will screen, categorise, and score entries based on quality, originality, impact, and cultural relevance before selecting nominees for various regional and continental categories. Southern Africa jury representative Adam Tiran described the milestone as more than just a statistic, noting that it reflects how “alive, creative, and unstoppable” African music is today, and that it is making a major impact globally.
The official nominees list will be released on August 24, with voting opening on September 5 via www.afrima.org and closing 24 hours before the Awards Night on November 30. All votes will be monitored and audited by an international firm to ensure transparency.
AFRIMA 2025, organised in partnership with the African Union, will be hosted by Nigeria and Lagos State under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The event will run from November 25 to 30 in Lagos and will feature the Africa Music Business Summit, AFRIMA Music Village Concert, Nominees Party, and the grand Awards Night, which will be broadcast live to more than 84 countries.
