2026 Pacific music awards announcement

2026 Pacific Music Awards Announced and Nominations Open                                    
Media release: 11 March 2026
On the anniversary of the inaugural awards, the Pacific Music Awards Trust proudly opens entries and announces the date for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards.

The awards ceremony celebrates current artists, honours history and looks to the future of Pacific music.  This is our collective celebration, dedicated to the incredible Pacific music community.  The 2026 Pacific Music Awards will be held on Wednesday 12 August, at the Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau, Auckland. 

Nominations for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards are now open to all Pacific artists across Aotearoa and the world, who released music in 2025. Local Pacific artists, i.e. New Zealand citizens/residents, can be nominated for all the entered award categories except for the Best International Pacific Artist Award, which is open to Pacific artists from overseas.  Singles, EPs or albums that have been released between 1 January – 31 December 2025, are eligible for entry.   All nominations need to be submitted online through the official entry system, with the deadline being 5pm, Friday 17  April 2026

For more details, including the 2026 PMA Terms & Conditions of Entry, please go to the Entries page on the website (https://www.pacificmusicawards.org.nz/entries-2026.html) The entered categories for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards are confirmed as follows:   Best Pacific Female Artist, Best Pacific Male Artist, Best Pacific Group, Best Pacific Gospel Artist. Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist, Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist, Best Pacific Roots/ Reggae Artist, Best Pacific Language, Best Pacific Song, Best Pacific Music Video, Best Producer, Best International Pacific Artist and Best Pacific Music Album (Aotearoa Music Award).

The Trust will also continue to work on the Tautua Programme, providing advocacy and support for the Pacific music community – and will share more music and content from the Hiva Folau Vaka project, which aims to contribute to language revitalisation through music.

We look forward to receiving all the nominations and to working on the plans for the Pacific Music Awards and the year ahead.
Issued by the Pacific Music Awards Trust
 
For any questions about the Pacific Music Awards or the nomination process for entries, please contact the Trust on:  [email protected]