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🇬🇭 Ghana /Culture & Society

MTN Conference Empowers Ghanaian Artistes to Monetize Work

From Ghanaian Times · (7m ago) English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • MTN Ghana organized a conference to help musicians, artists, and producers monetize their work through digital platforms.
  • The event aimed to address challenges in converting visibility into sustainable income for Ghanaian artists, despite increased global reach.
  • Stakeholders discussed leveraging local digital platforms, transparent revenue models, and sound business strategies to enhance earnings in the competitive music industry.

In Accra, MTN Ghana has taken a significant step towards empowering our vibrant creative industry by hosting a crucial conference focused on monetizing artistic work. This initiative, bringing together musicians, producers, managers, and media practitioners, directly addresses the persistent struggle many Ghanaian artists face: turning their talent and visibility into sustainable financial security.

Although global streaming platforms had significantly expanded the reach of Ghanaian music, many artistes continued to struggle to generate meaningful revenue from their content.

— Bless Sefenu AgordjoMTN Ghana's Acting Chief Digital Officer highlighted the gap between music's reach and artists' earnings.

While global streaming platforms have undeniably expanded the reach of Ghanaian music, the reality on the ground is that meaningful revenue generation remains a challenge. As Ghanaian Times, we believe it's vital to highlight discussions that move beyond mere exposure. The focus on building transparent and realistic revenue models, particularly through local digital platforms, is key to ensuring that both emerging and established talents can thrive.

This conference is particularly important from our perspective because it acknowledges the unique landscape of the Ghanaian music market. The emphasis on diversifying income streams and leveraging local platforms offers a more direct connection with our audiences and a potentially more consistent earning stream, countering the often opaque and less favorable terms of international services. The low participation on local platforms, due to awareness gaps and misconceptions, is a hurdle that needs continuous effort to overcome.

The shift from physical formats to digital systems required musicians to stay informed about evolving revenue opportunities.

— Bessa SimonsThe President of the Musicians Union of Ghana stressed the need for continuous education in the evolving music business.

We were particularly struck by the advice from industry leaders like Mr. Bessa Simons of the Musicians Union of Ghana and Ms. Diana Hopeson of GHMusic Publishing. Their calls for sound business strategies, long-term planning, and meticulous metadata management underscore that artistic success today requires a strong business acumen. This is a conversation that resonates deeply within Ghana, where the creative economy is a vital contributor to our national identity and economic growth.

Poor documentation often resulted in lost royalties.

— Diana HopesonThe Founder of GHMusic Publishing emphasized the critical role of proper metadata management and music registration.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ghanaian Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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