Ghanaian dancehall artiste Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy in the music circles has waded in the argument about how Ghana’s population affects the promotion of music on the global market.
Speaking to Kwame Dadzie in an interview on Ghana Weekend TV, Stonebwoy said that even though music is a numbers game, he believes that making it big on the international music scene goes beyond Ghana’s population.
“The numbers game is very important but it is not the number one point. I will always put the numbers game to probably the third or the fourth point,” he said this while responding to a question on his plea to a Ghanaian audience at his US show to patronise Ghanaian events in the Diaspora.
Population has been cited in many conversations as a major factor for Nigeria’s success in the entertainment industry. Proponents of this argument have said that the entertainment industry in Nigeria is doing exponentially well because the country has about 206.1 million people.
With Ghana’s population currently at 31 million, some have said it will be very difficult to catch up with Nigeria. But Stonebwoy says Ghanaians need to cherish what they have and develop a mindset that will place them on a higher pedestal, citing Jamaica as a country that is doing well in terms of music regardless
Davido in an interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show said Nigerian music gained prominence in the Diaspora because Nigerians in those areas made it a conscious effort to promote Nigerian music.
According to him, those Nigerians would even go to clubs and pay the DJs to play Nigerian music.
Watch Stonebwoy’s full interview on Ghana Weekend TV below: