The organisers of Germany's Echo Music Awards said Wednesday they would scrap their main annual prize due to a row over winners this year, a rap duo who have been slammed for anti-Semitic lyrics.
"The Echo brand is so badly damaged that a complete new beginning is necessary," said Germany's Music Industry Association, adding that the "Echo will be no more."
A maelstrom of outrage has erupted after the Echo's Hip-Hop/Urban prize was handed this month to rap duo Kollegah and Farid Bang, who in their song "0815" say their bodies are "more defined than Auschwitz prisoners".
The prize, which is based on sales, had gone to the act after they sold more than 200,000 copies of their album "Young, Brutal and Handsome 3".
AFP