Rex Omar, GHAMRO Chairman
Renowned gospel singer and worship leader, Evans Akesse Brempong, has described as heartbreaking, Ghana’s royalty collection and distribution system for musicians.
The gospel singer, who claimed he has not received royalty for the past seven years, declared that Ghana is far behind in royalty collection for musicians and music right owners.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Class FM, Akesse Brimpong said, “When I think about the royalty collection and distribution systems in Ghana, I get heartbroken. I get heartbroken in the sense that the institution, the body, GHAMRO, has been in existence for a long time but it appears that systems-wise, we’re way behind.”
Credited with a number of hit songs and three albums, the gospel act revealed that as a member of the collective society, “I have not received royalties for seven years.”
BEATWAVES gathered that the royalty payment system in Ghana has been a major problem, which has hindered the growth of the industry, especially for musicians who are not able to get what’s due them due to structural challenges of royalty collection.
Ghana Music Right Organisation (GHAMRO), a royalty collection agency that collects royalties on behalf of music right owners, over the years has been hugely criticised for not putting in place the right structures to ensure effective collection and distribution of royalties to musicians.
There have been lots of discussions and complaints from some Ghanaian musicians that they have received little, or never received any money from the collective society even though their songs are obviously being played.
Some of the stakeholders of the music industry also think the collective management organisation has not lived up to expectations, though the executives have explained that their biggest challenges have been acquiring the right software to track how songs are played on radio and television.
The management of GHAMRO recently revealed that most music users in Ghana including radio and television stations have been recalcitrant in paying their royalties.
By George Clifford Owusu