A scene from the seminar
The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has urged artistes to make astute use of digital technology to reproduce digital versions of copyrighted songs inexpensively with the help of softwares and websites in other to make wealth.
The widespread use of digital technology in the music industry has had an impact on artistes who utilise platforms like YouTube, Vevo, and others to make sales.
According to Digital Expert, Kwabena ‘Spikey’ Nkrumah at a seminar held in Kumasi titled “Leveraging Digital Tools for Career Enhancement” under the theme “Music in Africa Live Project”, the digital space over the years has made artistes wealthy, as artistes make most of their money by touring and selling music on iTunes.
He indicated that with the growing appetite of consumers for good content, artistes should be sure they provide content that can engage their fans and others who would be interested in their music and other content they may generate.
At the seminar, musicians were advised to make maximum use of data that is available to them in terms of where their listeners are in the world, when they listen to them, and how they even discover their music.
Presenting on “Building and Managing Your Brand”, Prof. Emmanuel Osei Acheampong advised upcoming artistes to invest in the crafts, saying, “The artiste must be careful of their brand values and invest in them using available resources to improve it market target and ensure that they can monetise their brands.”
On his part, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, who spoke about the “New Music Business” said in this digital era, musicians and their managers must pay attention to the digital space.
He noted that with revenues growing from streaming, musicians and their teams need to strategise effectively to take advantage of the opportunities available online to them.
The acting President of MUSIGA, Bessa Simons, said the entertainment scene has taken a new dimension with the introduction of digital technology which makes artistes reach their fan base.
He added that artistes can distribute their music to various online stores, build a fan base on social media, play online shows like we were doing during the COVID-19 lockdown, and make some money.
The seminar was attended by over one hundred musicians from the Ashanti Region. Other participants included representatives from the Northern, Upper West, Upper East, and Bono regions.
The second leg of the seminar takes place in Accra on Friday, September 2, 2022, at the Virtual Hub Gh in East Legon. The event will also be streamed live on MUSIGA Facebook page and other platforms.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke