No Fee Policy: The Ghanaian Music Industry Not Ready

Music Journalist, Ato Kilson, in a conversation on Culture Daily said the Ghanaian Music Industry cannot adopt the trend of not paying artistes after they have performed at events.

Speaking to Jay Foley on the topic, Super Bowl No Fee Policy: The Value Of Exposure vs Payment In The Music Industry, the Music Journalist said source of revenue for most Ghanaian artistes are through performances therefore performing on big platforms in Ghana will mean gaining more. He disclosed that structures like royalties and streaming are not in its full capacity which makes it difficult for money-making unlike other foreign artistes who receive royalties and have a lot of people streaming their music for them to get money.

According to him, the platform must guarantee the artiste some value which will translate into his or her music after the performance.

Speaking on the non-payment of perfomers on Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ato Kilson said the Super Bowl offers value to the artiste since it has huge audience from across the world. He continued that it offers amplification to the artiste, it also exposes the artiste to new brands. However, it has a cultural impact in the society whiles creating a legacy for the artiste. This he said cannot be seen in the Ghanaian market which is the main reason we cannot adopt a culture of not paying musicians when they perform on shows.

"When it comes to the Super Bowl we are looking at amplification of your previous works, brand endorsement, legacy and cultural impact. In the Ghanaian Music setting, it doesn't really reflect when it comes to brand endorsement. There is actually a deficit when it comes to legacy and cultural impact, we don't have a good documentation culture and when it comes to streaming it is non-existent as well as royalties. So when you look at all the structures down here, it is very difficult to adopt such a practice."