Industry talk will always be a never-ending topic. It pops up now and again, and as always, the good, bad and ugly is discussed. Opinions continue to float across the internet from time to time, and a particular incident always triggers it. The latest happened to be Shatta Wale’s 48-hour rant/beef on Burna Boy and the industry.
Like any other day, it’s going to spark conversation on how to fix a deeply broken system, but in reality, change is yet to happen, taking us back to square one. The elements that make up the industry: the institutions that are supposed to keep things going, the creatives, and the listeners. All three play a significant role in powering the industry.
The problems of our industry begin with the institutions that are supposed to help uplift our artists. GHAMRO is one of the agencies at the centre of it all; a royalties collection agency that is controlled by the older generation who continue to fumble the bag, for example, the Paul Simon saga.
In 1990, the 16 times Grammy award-winning artist released his album “Rhythm of the Saints”, which included a single “spirited voices”. A song that sampled Ghanaian folk song titled ‘Yaa Amponsah’. He contacted the Copyright administration office in Accra paid an initial royalty sum of $16,000 to the GCA.
The song has brought in a total of over $80,000 in royalties for the government of Ghana since then, but the fumbling roots back to when the song was assessed under the 1985 Copyright Law, making it “works imported into or sold in Ghana” policy. This explains why the royalties from that album rounded off at around $80,000 over 23 years. Imagine if the law had applied to sales worldwide, the royalties would’ve soared.
Avoidable/unfair decisions are the foundation of most of these agencies, which explains why most Ghanaian artists do not even sign up with these agencies that are supposed to help them generate income. Until these agencies have the right people, the industry will forever tiptoe on weak foundations.
As much as agencies are a nuisance, Ghanaian artists also take the fair share of the blame. Shatta Wale’s rant included a lack of airplay in Nigeria. To some extent, he is correct, but Ghanaian artists do not put much effort into marketing their music. Marketing is the art of telling your story to the right people at the right time — and telling it well. A good promotion can dabble between obscurity and stardom. Honestly speaking, we do not do this enough.
Yes, you can argue that the system’s flaws do not enable musicians in Ghana. The game has always been rigged, but it’s designed to be played and beaten just like every other game. A few acts held their own and made it; take Kidi’s “Say cheese” hit, the song survived the lockdown and “open-world” period, and it’s all on him modernising his marketing tactics, e.g. with his effective use of Tiktok. Gyakie’s “Forever” and Darkovibes’s “J’mapelle” are sheer examples of active marketing is being used as a tool.
Prior to both releases, both acts went on 3/4 days media tour overseas, ranging from indoor performances to visiting the top radio stations all over the continent, promotion 101, “they showed their faces”. They were active everywhere, on the internet and in real life, and it’s no surprise these two songs are where they are now.
Most Ghanaian artists do not invest in their craft. We have Nigerian plus foreign acts in our capital half of the time, pushing their work, from prospects to A-list acts. As an example, we see Wizkid who spends about 45% of his time in Accra. How many Ghanaian artists do we see doing the same?
Consumers bring fluidity into the cycle from third-party listeners to companies, fans, stans, radio stations; they have so much power. It’s tricky because you can do all that is required, and in the end, consumers will play judge. But consumers don’t value the craft enough, or people want to use music but don’t want to pay for it.
There’s this notion that they should be able to use music for free because the writer/artist will make money from sales or promotion on the backend. But the real tea is that backend money is usually never earned as promised thanks to a heavily-flawed system.
In a digitised age, where music is a top commodity for companies, it’s sickening to know companies don’t want to pay for the music, which is now the main product of their business model. And it doesn’t end there; even TV stations offer low income to use music in their productions ads, which is unacceptable.
The creative scene is a shambles. Valuing the process will only push acts to go the extra mile, and this helps on both ends. In this new age where you can get paid via streaming, people still prefer being third-party listeners, pirating music, another inevitable act. Those that use or consume music need to recognise the value or watch the quality and prevalence of music disappear from their lives as it stands.
To say Ghana has no “industry” is a reach. We do. It just isn’t mature enough. The world is changing, and just like culture, music is dynamic. Turning things around in time seems to be a problem for us, and with the right people, the industry will change.
