Over the last few weeks, several Ghanaian musicians have thrown punches at MUSIGA, a non-compulsory Union which boost of membership strength of over 4 thousand Ghanaian musicians.
When it comes to MUSIGA, it is either a Ghanaian musician is throwing insults at them for non-performance or another industry person is rendering the Union useless. The criticisms and jabs have increased astronomically over the last few years, probably, because of the 2M GHS which was handed over to them for the betterment of the whole creative art industry.
I am personally not a fan of MUSIGA or any of the numerous Ghanaian creative art associations and I don’t give a hoot about Obour and his executives—because the truth is, just like the Ghanaian government, most of these associations are a MESSS!
Without being contemptuous, let me add that, the musicians and the industry players themselves do not have any sense of career direction and yet they continue to unfairly punch MUSIGA—simply because they are not part of the gang of people sharing whatever is at stake.
Most Ghanaian musicians make so much noise and yet, they continue to produce garbage which they call songs and when frustration sets in, they go around blaming others like MUSIGA for failing to help them achieve their goals.
Let’s leave MUSIGA aside for just a minute…Can you tell me any of these Ghanaian musicians who is doing anything worth a real push or which of them is making a real effort for that international break through which will bring the needed success?
Ask any of them known for throwing insults at MUSIGA this simple question; what do you want MUSIGA to do and you will hear lots of gobbledygook, as if MUSIGA is their record label or an agency supposed to manage their careers for them.
In fact, most of these Ghanaian musicians have no careers. They need to find some job to do and do so real quick, because their approach to music will not make them anything, probably except being local champions—and MUSIGA cannot take them out of their compounding misery.
For Christ sake, MUSIGA is not a de-facto Union, you can decide to join or not and if anything at all, those throwing insults can come together and form a ‘perfect union’. The last time I checked, Ghanaians still have freedom of association as a constitutional right.
The cry has always been, there is no music industry in Ghana—- I cannot debate this since the needed structures are not in existence. Similarly, I can say, there is no proper musician in Ghana since the vital attributes of a real musician are missing in most of these so called Ghanaian musicians.
To me, many of our Ghanaian artistes are still running music as a hobby and not a commercial enterprise designed to bring them any substantial profit. However, if the profit is not forthcoming, instead of looking at their little corner to see what they can sort out there first, they go straight to blame others—and MUSIGA has become an easy target.
MUSIGA cannot solve all or even the largest part of the problems Ghanaian musicians have. They have to start cleaning their own ‘mess’ and consider building a commercial career before asking MUSIGA to help them.
Is MUSIGA supposed to go about and look for endorsement deals for them, organise concerts for them, build their non-existing brands, put together an effective team of professionals for them or pay them a monthly allowance by virtue of just holding memberships? Even when MUSIGA organizes career enrichment programs, most of these musicians do not attend yet they want their careers to grow…
I have heard several musicians say Ghanaian DJs do not play Ghanaians songs and MUSIGA is doing nothing about that, absurdly comparing what they say happens in Nigeria to Ghana. These people forget that, people don’t care about where a song comes from, they want good music and as long as it is good, it will be played. I did not know PSY but I used to play Gangnam style like a mad man. DJs probably don’t play a lot of Ghanaian songs because they are not worth the PLAY button. Who will forgo delivering good songs to his listeners for this idea of musical nationalism or patriotism nonsense?
And outside Ghana, no one plays these songs because they are not worth their ears. If you want people to patronize a product, you do so by making it worth it. I have countless heard FUSE ODG’s songs being played at several departmental stores out here in London (and I mean ones you cannot find in Africa), on mainstream radio and even at some of the biggest restaurants—not simply because he is a Ghanaian, but because the production is good and he has a team of professionals in place to make things happen.
Enough of the MUSIGA insults, it is time these so called musicians who do not have any commercial understanding of today’s music world begin to give their own activities a careful look. A union can only perform when the individual members have a sense of direction and the needed outflow of excellence.
MUSIGA is like Africa Union to me, until the member states fix their individual economies and governance issues, and forge forward for greater developmental projects, the Union will just have a legal status and no real substantive effect. Since we like to compare, we can compare this to the European Union—and let me add that, the EU is an effective Union because majority of the member states are individually strong and effectively progressive. All what the Union is doing is putting the individual directions into a collective pack for a stronger presence and policies, for the general good.
I am not saying MUSIGA should not be criticised or is at its best but as the maxim goes; “He who comes into equity must come with clean hands”. Just like democracy, it is not the greatest form of governance but it is the best we have come up with so far.