Celebrated Highlife musician, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, says the various music associations in Ghana are using “Mafia” tactics to kill the revenue of musicians.
According to him, they have been corrupt in the administration of power to ensure musicians don’t gain their required royalties.
Speaking exclusively on Max Drive in Accra on Tuesday, Ambolley stated that he took it upon himself to run for the President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), but the authorities used what he termed “mafiarism” to sabotage his dreams.
He noted that those in charge passed the power down to those they knew, citing Diana Hopeson to Bice Osei Kuffour, known as Obour, and then now the current President, Bessa Simons, without the leaders having any insight to genuinely help musicians to gain their royalties.
Ambolley said the late Mac Tontoh even fought so hard for such positions to change the narrative and help the musicians, but to no avail.
The “Adwoa” hitmaker, who said he had not received royalties for the past six years, believed that favoritism and the corrupt acts of the leaders responsible for the various offices, most especially the Ghana Music Right Organization (GHAMRO), were the reasons musicians were not receiving their royalties.
He noted that there were no proper structures in place to collect and distribute royalties, and until the leaders changed to act in the interest of the musicians, they would continue killing revenues and royalties of musicians.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
