Boy Doe Reveals Independent Music Career Is Costly, With Most Performances Unpaid

Ghanaian musician Boy Doe has disclosed that the financial burden of working as an independent artiste has made it difficult to sustain his music career, with most of the shows he performs at going unpaid.

Boy Doe who was speaking in an interview on the Culture Daily morning show on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM said he has spent years funding his music, including production, promotion and performances, without seeing significant financial returns.

“I’ve been doing it for 15 years. It’s very murky road and I think the most expensive career job to do is music. It’s very expensive to do music,” he said.

Boy Doe said he manages his career himself and has invested money in producers, advertising, stages and travel for performances and projects.

He said that out of about 100 shows he has performed at, roughly 80 were done without payment.

“Most of the shows, if I have gone for 100 shows, maybe 80 is free,” he said.

He also said he had previously worked with about 18 artistes without formal contracts, hoping to help them develop their careers, but that the projects eventually fell apart.

“A lot of bad directions and bad business. A lot of money has gone in,” he said.

According to Boy Doe, streaming has also not generated enough income to make a meaningful difference. He said his earnings from streaming were about $300, which he had not withdrawn.

He criticised what he described as limited opportunities for emerging musicians, saying artistes who are not already established often struggle to secure performances, airplay and promotional support.

Boy Doe said he had experienced situations where he was replaced on a performance schedule because a more established act was considered a bigger name.

“This guy come up. Oh, this guy is bigger than you. He’s coming. Move, move,” he said.

He also recalled an occasion when a woman organising an event told him they wanted Keche instead of an emerging act.

“I gave my song to a lady. They asked her to come and perform. She said, ‘Look, we don’t want you. We want Keche,’” he said.

Despite the difficulties, Boy Doe said he has continued to release music and record regularly. He said he has a studio at home and records almost every day.

“I think I’ve come far. The music is growing, the style and the delivery. Even though it’s not going well, we keep on pushing and hoping something will come up,” he said.

Boy Doe said he currently has about 200 songs online, with about 18 officially released, and plans to continue releasing new music.

He said he has several singles in the works and releases songs regularly across streaming platforms.