I was given GH¢1000 as royalties five years ago – Diana Hamilton

Ghanaian prolific gospel singer Diana Hamilton has reiterated that laid down structures put in place in Ghana’s music system must work to benefit artistes.

Speaking in an interview with Cookie Tee on TV3 New Day, the reigning artiste of the year stated that she had also received some meager amount of money as royalty five years ago adding that, she hasn’t bothered to check if she has received subsequent ones because it is meager.

“I was given GHS1000 as royalties five years ago. I cannot say I have gotten anymore but I haven’t checked because it is so meager. If it was a huge sum of money, I would have seen it and spoken about it.”

“All I will say is guys, let’s make the system work. I am sure there are laws and so many things put in place in our systems can we make it work?”.

Comparing Ghana’s music management system to ones abroad, Diana reiterated that she receives liable information on her music from music management companies outside Ghana who as well provide a breakdown of how her music has been disseminated.

“When I release a song and I hand it over to cedi baby, all I do is sit back and every two weeks I get a cheque through the mail. There is a breakdown of who played your song, which club or church played my sing, which radio and tv station played my song. There’s a breakdown of how much it costs them to play my song,” she said.

She added that, “I know what every outlet is bringing me. I know what my biggest shop is. Whether it's iTunes, boom play or Amazon. There is also the royalty’s side. There are systems that are here, can we make them work here too.”

Diana Hamilton is not the only industry player who has bemoaned the inconsistencies in the Ghana Music Industry especially with the distribution and dissemination of music as well as payment of royalties.

It can be recounted that artistes like D-Black, kwaw Kese, King Promise and other artistes vented similar concerns and industry players are seeking a positive change sooner.