Mobocops to revamp awards.

Specialist panel formed to overhaul Mobo Awards in first step of a long- term process to develop the Mobo Organisation brand

In the 12 years since Kanya King first helped bring the Mobo Awards to the nation's TV screens the ceremony has grown significantly, but 2008 could yet prove to be a landmark year for the event.

That first award ceremony at London's Connaught Rooms back in 1996 grabbed the headlines and was the first event of its kind to celebrate the best in urban music and culture. It was launched by an enthusiastic Tony Blair (then the leader of the opposition) and saw Goldie and the Fugees win big, but in recent years reaction to some of the categories and winners has been mixed.

The Mobo Organisation is now looking to stamp out controversy by overhauling the way in which the award categories and nominations are selected and its aim is to embrace the opinions of experts in every field of the urban music business via a panel of "black music" specialists.

"Up until now I feel like it has been a little bit haphazard", says head of MTV Base Jasmine Dotiwala who is pleased to be included on the panel. "Some times there have been artists in there who haven't delivered the material that year and people who have won things because they turned up," she continues. "While the awards have been a great thing for people from the urban scene, a lot of people didn't take it seriously."

The first meeting of the new 18-member panel, made up of leading DJs, music journalists, broadcasters and other prominent names from the sector, was held in the boardroom of PRS recently where a long list of award nominees was drawn up. The list will be revealed later this month before the public are invited to cast their votes.

The introduction of the new panel of specialists brings to an end the Mobo Awards' traditional voting mechanism, which involved a 1,000- member academy being required to complete and submit forms.