General

• All Nominees hereby relinquish any claims of any kind against Phma Music Awards that may arise from or relate to their involvement in these awards and will ensure that the nominees do the same.

• Phma Music Awards will not be held responsible to any entrant for any reason, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, arising from or related to the Prestigious Music Awards. The entrant fully indemnifies Phma Music Awards, along with their successors, assigns, licensees, and each of their officers, directors, employees, and agents, and agrees to hold them harmless from all claims, liabilities, judgments, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) that may arise directly or indirectly from any violation of these rules by the entrant. This indemnity will remain in effect even after the Awards have concluded.

• By submitting a fully signed acceptance of the nomination for the Prestigious Music Award, the Nominee consents to adhere to the rules outlined in this nomination letter.

• All decisions regarding the acceptance of any nomination and the eligibility of nominees are determined by the Prestigious Music Awards Committee and will be final and binding on all nominees.

• No artist will be permitted to withdraw any nomination once it has been submitted to the Prestigious Music Awards.

Guidelines

• Prestigious Haitian Music Awards Committee will determine the nominees based on the most popular or requested songs during the specified period, and the nominations will be based on the scores from the radio stations.

a. Nominate three (3) artists, songs, or albums in order of popularity, with 1 being the most popular.

b. A panel of three (3) presenters will nominate the artist, song, or album in any given category.

c. Presenters may utilize phone-in programs or existing charts to nominate the artist, song, or album.

d. Provincial nominations can only consider artists based in that specific Province who are not in major categories.

e. Nominations should be based solely on radio airplay and not any other source.

f. The nominating panel may exclude categories for which information may not be available to the presenters or the station.

g. Stations can create their own jingles to raise awareness about the nominations.

h. The form must be signed by the nominating panel.

i. The nomination period is from July 10, 2025, to October 5, 2025.

j. The deadline for receiving nominations is Friday, October 5, 2025.

k. Voting will be open to the public via SMS and website starting October 10, 2025 and will continue until December 10, 2025.

Eligibility For Nomination

Nominations are open to all Haitian/American or Haitian/Canadian artists. The nomination process is available for any qualifying recording artist, group, or producer who meets the following criteria:

• Is/are a Haitian/American or Haitian / Canadian citizen(s) or has been a permanent resident(s) in America or Canada for at least six (6) months as of the nomination date; and

• Provided that the Nominee is a Haitian/American or Haitian / Canadian artist and possesses at least Sixty percent (60%) ownership of the master recording included in the nomination, where any remaining portion of the master is owned by a non-Haitian/American or Haitian / Canadian artist.

• This requirement also applies to artists in duos or groups, if at least Sixty (60) percent of the members meet the criteria outlined above.

• The Prestigious Awards Committee reserves the right to request verification that all artists and producers qualify as specified herein.

• Unless otherwise stated in the category (for instance, Best Sound Production), international collaborations or productions involving Haitian/American or Haitian / Canadian artists and international artists are permitted, provided that the Haitian/American or Haitian / Canadian artist(s) have equal or full rights to the song.

All recordings submitted for the Prestigious Music Awards must have been commercially released in America during the review period.

The review period will cover the immediate past 12 months from the nomination closing date. Exceptions may be made for recordings released before the 12-month review period if they were commercially available during the review period or re-released within that timeframe. The Prestigious Awards Committee has the right to request proof at its discretion.

The following categories are exempt from this requirement:

• Lifetime Achievement

• Prestigious Special Award

• Humanitarian

• International Achievement

Terms And Conditions for Nominees

Terms And Conditions for Nominees

1. Nominated Works. The Nominee must submit the works for which they have been nominated, along with a high-resolution photograph intended for use in the graphics during the Awards.

2. Nomination Certificate. The Nominee will receive a Nomination Certificate that specifies the work for which the Artist(s) has been nominated, and this will be presented during the dress rehearsal of the Awards ceremony.

3. Trophy. Each category’s winner will be awarded a Trophy on the night of the Award. The trophy must be collected in person by the winner, except in exceptional circumstances where a representative may collect it on behalf of the winning nominee.

4. Prize money. The winner of each category will receive prize money, which will not be disbursed earlier than 30 days following the Main Award Ceremony. Cash prizes are awarded to the winning artists unless otherwise stated in the category. (NOT THIS YEAR)

5. Attendance. Artists and producers nominated in any category are expected to attend the awards ceremony. Those who do not attend will forfeit the cash component of their award and will not receive the statuette. Exceptions may be considered if the nominee submits a written notice of their inability to attend, along with a motivation, to the PHMA Committee within fourteen (14) days of the nominees being announced. If the application is approved, the nominee may be required to record an audio-visual interview for each nominated category for broadcast purposes, with a copy to be submitted to the Phma Music Awards no later than two weeks prior to the Award ceremony.

6. Accommodation. Nominees from outside the hosting City (Miami) will be provided with accommodation, consisting of one standard double room for (winners and performers only) or two standard double rooms for groups, bands, or choirs.

7.Transport. Nominees traveling from outside the host city (Miami) will receive transportation costs equivalent to bus fare.

8. Entry. Each Nominee will receive a Nominee’s Pass, granting access to the red carpet and a reserved VIP seat according to their nomination category. Additionally, each nominee will be provided with one extra VIP ticket.

9. Performance. Nominees may be invited to perform at the awards to support both the event and the music industry. These performances will be voluntary, showcasing their commitment and honor towards the initiative aimed at promoting the music industry.

10. Photography. On the day of the Awards, the Nominee will participate in a photo session with a designated photographer, who will capture images of the Nominee.

Broadcast And Exploitation Rights

Granted Rights. To organize the awards event, the PHMA Committee will require the following from each artist or producer nominated in any category (referred to as ‘nominees’):

• The right to utilize each nominee’s photograph, name, likeness, image, biography, interviews, and recorded performance at all awards events, for the purposes of marketing, advertising, filming, broadcasting, and commercial exploitation of the awards, including the production of a commercially available DVD;

• The right to use the sound recordings or portions thereof included in the album submitted for the awards for marketing, advertising, filming, broadcasting, and commercial exploitation of the awards.

• The right to include a maximum of one song and an accompanying video per sound recording submitted for the competition, for potential inclusion on a CD and DVD to be produced and sold in America and internationally.

Phma Music Awards will retain ownership of the photographs and may use them in whole or in part for display, publishing, promotional materials, artworks, including but not limited to the official website, social media, and any other authorized media.

Consequently, it is a prerequisite for Nomination that all artists and producers consent to promptly sign the Music Awards standard contributors release form, which grants Prestigious Music Awards the rights outlined above and any related rights. The contributors release form is available here for all nominees.

Structure Of Awards

Nominations. The nominations for the Awards are sourced from selected Haitian Radio Stations across all the USA and Canada and Haiti. Each Radio Station or konpa animator is involved in nominating artists, songs, or albums for a duration of 12 months leading up to the nomination deadline. Participating radio stations must have at least three presenters to nominate an artist, song, or album in any category. The artists, songs, or albums that garner the highest number of nominations from all participating radio stations are eligible for the public voting phase.

Nominations are open for a period of 30 days, during which all submissions are collected by the Awards Committee, which consists of 5 members from PHMA and 14 members from the music and corporate sectors.

The Awards Committee will conduct a preliminary analysis and evaluation of all nominations received, ensuring compliance with the nomination guidelines.

Voting. Voting will take place through the website, www.haitianmusicawards.info, and via SMS to the designated short code. The results will be analyzed, computed, and audited by an auditing firm. Adjudication.

An independent panel of adjudicators has been established, comprising individuals from various institutions with vested interests and expertise in music and the arts. This may include, but is not limited to, the following institutions or associations:

• Phma Arts Adjudicators Panel (PAAP)

The independent panel of adjudicators reviews the nominations and the public votes after an independent auditor has verified the votes. The adjudicators possess voting rights in specific technical categories, which will also be subject to a public vote at a specific ratio of up to 60/40. Committee Members.

Members of the committee will be selected from Phma, various associations, and the music community. Additionally, the committee will include representatives from sponsors and other stakeholders with related interests.

Selection Of Winners

Public Vote

The public shall be invited to vote and decide the winners in each category
The Voting shall be done via website and SMS to a provided code.
A maximum of Five (5) votes shall be allowed for SMS Voting while one (1) Vote shall be allowed for website voting per category.

Adjudication

A group of judges will participate in the adjudication process for certain technical categories to determine the winners, considering public input according to a specified ratio.
At the end of the voting period, the IT Company responsible for managing the votes will compile and tally all votes, subsequently handing them over to a designated auditing firm for verification.
The Audit Firm will send the verified results to the judges, who will then make decisions regarding the technical categories based on the verified data. The judges will seal the names of the winning artists in envelopes and keep them secure until the night of the Award.

Winners

Winners shall be announced at the Awards Ceremony

Awards Calendar

The Prestigious Haitian Music Awards shall be held annually on the 2^nd weekend of January. The 2025 Awards Calendar is tabulated below:

Launch of the 10^th Edition of the Awards – June 10, 2025
Nomination Form sent – July 10, 2025 –
Nomination Period for Radio Stations –
Announcement of Nominees –
Close of Voting Period – October 5, 2025
Voting Period – October 10 to December 10, 2025
Auditing and verification of votes – December 15, 2025
Dress Rehearsal and Certificate Presentation – January 7, 2026
Troubadour night – January 8, 2026
Press Conference – January 9, 2026
Awards Ceremony – January 10, 2026

Adjudication Criteria

Musicality – 10
Audio Quality – 10
Cohesion – 10
Interpretation – 15
Creativity – 20
Resourcefulness – 15
Entertainment value – 10
General Excellence – 10
Total – 100