Record companies and/or individual artists are required to submit entries in accordance with the published rules of the Zimbabwe Music Awards which are available on their website
Entries received are then screened for compliance against ZIMA rules for eligibility and they were submitted in the correct award categories. Vetting Committee members overseen by designated ZIMA officials carry out this screening process, known as vetting.
There will be a panel of Judges to adjudicate most ZIMA categories with the exception of public voting on Song of Year. The Judging panel composition gets reviewed annually. Members of the Supervisory Committee confirm them, taking into account their level of expertise in the relevant categories plus their general knowledge of the music industry.
All recordings (singles and albums) including music videos submitted for ZIMA 2021 must have been commercially released (in other words first made available for purchase) in Zimbabwe during the period 01 January 2021 to 31 December 2021
The top 5 awards categories namely Best Female Artist of the Year, Best Male Artist of the Year, Best Group or Duo of the Year, Best Newcomer of the Year and Best Album of the Year are not open for entry.
However, entries are open for the rest of the categories below
Genre Awards Category
Zimdancehall
Sungura
HipHop
Afro Pop
Contemporary Gospel
Traditional Gospel
RnB & Soul
Jazz
Dance (House/Gqom/Kwaito/EDM)
Tshibilika
Traditional Folk (Chinyakare/Chimurenga)
Traditional Folk (Ezomdabu/Imbube)
Best Alternative
Special Awards
Zim Icon Award 1
Zim Icon Award 2
Lifetime Achievement Award
Best International Zimbabwean Artist
Best Collaboration
Top Downloaded Song of the Year
Technical Awards Category
Best Music Video
Videographer of the Year
Producer of the Year
Engineer of the Year
Public Vote Category
Song of the Year (SOY)