Alliance For Change Set To Effect Positive Mechanisms To Elevate Ghana Music

For far too long, the Ghana music industry has seen majority of its stakeholders work very hard but receive very little or no income for their hard work and dedication through no fault of theirs but due to a failed system which gets worse by the years. A lot of Ghanaian musicians, songwriters, producers, instrumentalists, sound engineers, etc., have died poor or struggle to make ends meet, after several years of dedicating their lives to a trade which should have supported their livelihood during their prime and also in their retirement.

The Alliance For Change In Ghana Music – a collection of creative arts stakeholders who believe in creating a thriving and prosperous music industry, is set to array modern ways of generating income for the music industry and Ghana as a whole through the creative arts, making the Ghana music industry attractive for investors again, and seeks to recreate an industry which will significantly contribute to the economy of Ghana by restructuring how music business is done in Ghana.

In a news release signed by Mark Darlington Osae (Interim Chair, Steering Committee), the charity and the pressure group fighting for a positive change and a proper restructuring of the Ghana music industry will ensure creative people are able to pay their fair share of taxes in Ghana and also contribute to national or private pension schemes and will also create a booming music industry economy which will not only create more employment locally, but also able to compete globally.

This movement which also comprises of creatives or talents, managers, record producers, road managers, investment bankers, publicists, event organizers, media personalities etc. is pushing to get the Ghana music industry plugged into the Global music industry in order to attract multinational record labels, publishing companies, booking agencies, tour companies, media houses, royalty collection companies and multi-national/local investors. This initiative will be advocating for implementation of full digitization of the royalty collection system in Ghana and set standard royalty rates per play by radio and television stations.

The group strongly believes these unacceptable situations occur as a result of the lack of proper systems and efficient structures, which has equally rendered administrations seemingly incompetent in governing the affairs of music business in Ghana. The sad and shambolic situation has left a hole in the pockets of many creative people and also had a ripple effect on other music industry stakeholders like investors, managers, labels, bloggers, promoters, event organizers, video directors, video models, production assistants, dancers, DJs, entertainment journalists, poets, etc. We are therefore advocating for systems that will ensure transparency and promote accountability.

The group’s fight is against decades of unacceptable mediocrity, institutional corruption due to lack of transparency and perceived incompetent leadership, which stifles the growth of the industry. Their fight is also against ineffective systems and any group of persons who have been given the power to serve in the Ghana Music Industry but deliberately or non-deliberately under-performing. It is also to promote education of stakeholders to ensure they have a better understanding of the music business, know the other available venues to generate income, as well what their rights are in terms of contracts and agreements.

The Alliance For Change In Ghana Music is therefore calling on all Ghana music industry stakeholders to join in fighting for our rights and a prosperous future by reasoning together and taking the necessary steps towards a better Ghana Music Industry. It is incumbent on us to enforce this change during our lifetime otherwise the next generation will suffer more severe consequences.

Download full release below;