Henry Bessa Simons
The Acting President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Henry Bessa Simons, has revealed that the union will soon implement programmes that will help reduce the increased rate of music piracy in the country.
Mr. Simons said music piracy had existed in the Ghanaian music industry for over three decades with no signs of being tackled by the copyright office which was established by the government to fight piracy.
According to him, MUSIGA will soon launch an Anti-Piracy Team to educate the public and create awareness about the negative impact of piracy on the music industry.
He said the team would also educate the public to shun pirated materials in order to grow the creative arts industry in Ghana.
He added that the members of the team which was expected to be launched soon in Accra would comprise police officers, musical rights owners, Ghana Music Right Organization (GHAMRO) and Copyright Office.
He mentioned that the team would undertake anti-piracy exercise and perform any other functions that were necessary to protect the right of music right owners.
As a way of protecting the works of Ghanaian artistes, he said the anti-piracy team, with the support from the police, would arrest anyone caught pirating or trying to pirate musical works.
He mentioned that MUSIGA had also decided to set up various social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram among others through which the union would easily disseminate information to the public.
In an interview with BEATWAVES, Mr. Simons pledged to protect the intellectual property of music right owners against any form of abuse or violation.
He indicated that the union would also mount a serious campaign against individuals and companies selling music works on various music purchasing websites without approval from the owners.
Piracy menace was killing the music industry slowly, and he feared for the worse, he told BEATWAVES.
By George Clifford Owusu