Highlife artiste, Dada Hafco has said on Zylofon FM that Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, among others, has become an awards scheme that glorifies rich artistes over hardworking artistes.
Speaking as a panelist on the Showbiz Agenda, he said award schemes in Ghana are more centered on making money for the organizers since the rich artistes who already have large following aid their fans to vote.
He said this logic does not make sense and that the award organizers end up awarding underserving artistes rather than artistes who are hardworking.
He believes using the strategy of expert decisions rather than the usual votes to award artistes is better.
“In our space, awards are actually a rating on an artiste’s career simply because we live in Accra, we don’t have the luxury and we’re not able to afford touring throughout Ghana but immediately your name pops up in any awards scheme, you happen to be heard elsewhere in other regions.”
“Awards ar a good thing. For me, we will like to have more in the system but the question is: The people who put awards scheme out there, are they genuinely trying to let us be heard, let us be recognized or it’s about the money? For me, I think most of them are for the money.”
“Simply because when people put up an award, the award scheme, even our almighty VGMA has become such that the rich man wins. The richest person wins because if I’m contesting with Kobby Kyei (one of the panelists on the show) and he has money, he could organize a voting party for fans and buy credit for people to vote. What happens to me who doesn’t have the money?”
He, however, added that every nominee is a potential winner.
“If I have the money, I’ll win. That’s how the award scheme has become. And why has it become so? It’s because this is business and first of so people wanna make money from what they put out there so it does not make it genuine”
“Every nominee is a potential winner. No doubt about that so when you go in, you’re hoping that you’ll win. But if you put in so much money by voting, by buzzing people, buying people. What if you don’t win? How are you gonna feel?”
“Awards are good, no doubt but if we can move away a little bit from the place that generates a lot of money; you guys are supposed to make money. No two ways about that but let’s be a bit careful about it either than that, we might end up awarding the wrong people always instead of the right people,” he concluded.
