Why Ghana’s music is struggling to cross borders

Majority of top Ghanaian musicians seem to have humble beginnings. They rise on the shoulders of individuals or organisations to stardom.

However, those individuals or organisations soon become villains in their music careers.

The seeming bad blood between these musicians and key stakeholders is the reason record labels are sometimes blamed for exploiting and milking their artistes.

This is the reason numerous budding artistes appear missing their dreams of becoming global music stars, with Ghana’s music struggling to cross borders.

Accountability

One grey area that often results in musicians parting ways with their record labels is the lack of accountability.

Most often, upcoming artistes are not detailed about the content of the contractual agreements they enter with record labels and sign anything that comes their way due to the excitement of getting famous in the initial stages of their careers.

Mr. Fred Kyei Mensah, a renowned Ghanaian music producer and entertainment pundit, in an interview with GNA Entertainment, says most artistes come into the music space without having any knowledge about the business aspect of their craft.

“Most of the artistes come into the space as novices; they don’t have any knowledge about the music business, the kind of agreement they sign, they don’t read well, and they
don’t get professional help…”

Another area where feuds arise is the lack of transparency or accountability when the begins to make money from shows played either locally or internationally.

Legendary rapper Okra Tom Dawidi spoke about how wicked some record labels were at exploiting their artistes.

He said: “A lot of artistes are ungrateful, which is true, but on the other hand, a lot of record labels are wicked. When artistes are coming up, there is this burning desire to showcase their talent, and when they are not careful, they make mistakes, especially when offers come in.

“Artistes often accept anything that is given to them because of their desperation for fame without taking into consideration the clauses in the contract, among many other things.”

Acquaintances

When an artiste begins to blossom and his popularity and influence begin to grow, they meet all kinds of people who try to influence their relationship with their record label.

Some of these new acquaintances often lend some form of advice to these artistes and sometimes mislead them, resulting in the termination of their contracts.

There is no doubt that some artistes become much bigger than their record labels and always try to impose their preferences on the record labels.

Mr. Fred Kyei Mensah shared his opinion on this issue. He said: “Sometimes it is those behind the scenes who advise the artiste wrongly. And the labels are there to do business, they are not ‘Father Christmas’, everybody is trying to make good of the other.

“Artistes begin to demonstrate bad egos and start to disregard or disrespect the label, and the label does not take it lightly, especially when they also invested in the artiste from scratch. They are likely to reprimand some of the things the artistes do, and in doing so, it leads to that kind of friction,” he said.

He says some bad acquaintances also sometimes introduce the artistes to drugs and encourage them to violate societal norms.

Branding

Record labels have their own style of presenting their artiste to the outside world, and many artistes also have their own style of branding and how they want to be perceived in the music space.

This clash of styles generates some sort of frosty relationship that hampers the success of the artiste and leads to breakdown.

Way Forward

The prevalence of these issues of ingratitude and exploitation is on the rise in the Ghanaian music industry, and a few cases do come into the media landscape, but many stories remain untold.

Ghanaian rapper Armstrong Affum, popularly known as Opanka, in an interview, says the issues can be resolved by artistes understanding the business aspect of music at the early stage of the partnership.

“Yeah, it is true that some artistes are ungrateful, but in everything, you will have the bad side and the good side. That is why we still have some guys who are grateful. I believe musicians should keep it real because when an investor invests in your craft, they intend to make a profit because it is business.

“So, it is high time we stopped being ungrateful and took show business seriously, especially in the early stages of our careers.”

According to Okra Tom Dawidi, artistes must stand up for their mistakes in the early stages of their careers because the record labels might have invested a lot in their careers, and backing out could prove detrimental to their careers.

“Upcoming artistes should note that fame is not everything, and money is very important, but fame without money is a pain. So, get to understand what you are signing for, the years and percentage of your earnings, but very vital, get a music lawyer to assist you in understanding the contract before you sign,” Okra Tom Dawidi says.

In conclusion, music remains the food for the soul for which reason industry players must attach seriousness and professionalism to the sector.

Government and all stakeholders must continue to invest in the sector, especially the development and management of artistes to keep the soul of Ghana alive with the country’s music enjoying good patronage across borders.