As conversations on projecting that Ghanaian music industry keep coming up, a lot of stakeholders in the arts industry keep proffering various solutions.
Chris Tsormanah shared his thoughts on this subject on his Facebook timeline:
Is music business in Ghana viable?
Of course, Yes!
Unfortunately, most of the actors in the industry paint a gloomy picture due to their limited knowledge of the trade.
It is expected of every individual or organisation to understand the nature of a venture before committing to it. For instance, the fast pace of ROI in a Cement trading business isn’t the same as trading in Automobiles, where it might take months before a buyer shows interest in a car.
Even within the Automobile business, some range of cars sells faster than others. And the same can be said of investing in Palm plantations on one side and vegetable farms on the other. Therefore, you can’t go into a music business with the same expectation as fish farming.
Music business is a capital intensive venture which takes a long period to realise it’s total ROI. It’s noteworthy that depending on the department an actor operates within, there could be an extension of benefits from the ROI throughout this actor’s career and even years after he/she’s passed on. For example, right holders are entitled to royalties for 70 years after their death.
In recent times, Empire Inc, a record label distribution and publishing firm has invested in Ghanaian works like Fameye’s Greater Than album, Kelvyn Boy’s Black Star album and some of our Kumerican talents. If our industry is in that devastating state why would this American company throw money into it?…Or why would SonyMusic invest in Gyakie and King Promise?
In a digital era where music is largely consumed from DSPs, we have Boomplay’s office established here in our economy, Spotify and other stores have extended their operations to our territory. Ditto Music, a prominent global distribution company has one of its branches on this soil. What are these companies doing here if our industry isn’t that promising?
The passage of the Creative arts bill is a development we cannot lose track of. It’s one thing operating as an industry without any recognition in the structure of Government and a different thing being factored into the national budget. Unless the pessimists still want to express no hope.
Prior to this last decade, one could hardly come across a media outlet that solely runs programs in the field of entertainment, especially music. But for now, Hitz Fm, Zylofon Fm & TV, 4syt TV, Bryt TV, 3music and channels in other regions have widened the scope of music conversation. From a broader perspective doesn’t this proliferation of media outlets contribute to growth?
Now, we witness a good number of Ghanaian artistes organize their own annual concerts, and as if that isn’t enough, the number of collaborative works between Ghanaian talents and their top international colleagues have increased drastically. Whilst the Beyonces, Teddy Rileys, Burna Boys, Diamond Platinumz, and Cassper Nyovests troop in, the Sarkodies, Stonebwoys, Shatta Wales, King Promises, Bisa Kdeis, Flowking Stones, and Fancy Gadams can afford to put up their own shows. Isn’t this a sign of a thriving industry?
Beyond the music industry, there are challenges in every business. Moreover, it’s unrealistic to expect every player in an industry to succeed or become a market leader so the failure of some players shouldn’t be interpreted as the general state of the said industry. Maybe, we should rather interrogate what players are doing right or wrong.
It’s high time we accepted this reality; there are guiding principles for every industry and one’s chances of surviving depend on how well they understand the business environment.
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Written by Chris Tsormanah
