Musicians are losing sponsorships because of internal wrangling —Bernard Amankwah

GOSPEL singer Bernard Amankwah is not happy with how some of his colleagues publicly rubbish the efforts of the leadership of the various groups in the music industry because the trend is affecting sponsorship and investment in the sector.

He pointed out that even though musicians found relief in expressing their displeasure and “washing their dirty linen” in public, the unfortunate trend was causing huge losses to players in the industry.

Speaking with Graphic Showbiz about the simmering tension between Rex Omar, who is the Chairman of the Interim Board of Ghana Music Rights and Organisation (GHAMRO), and musician Akosua Adjepong, over unpaid royalties among others, Mr Amankwah said it casts a slur on the image of musicians and believes it shouldn’t be encouraged.

“Personally, I think that Akosua Adjepong and her likes, who are always in the habit of running to the media to talk about perceived wrongdoings, should not be encouraged at all.

“For a very long time, they have just been a nuisance to musicians. I’m not saying this out of a vacuum but from what I have experienced.

“Over the years, I have lost sponsorships for my annual Celebration of His Grace concert with the excuse that Ghanaian musicians don’t know what they are about, since they are always fighting about one thing or the other.

“I’ve had a couple of potential sponsors tell me to the face that we(musicians) are not united and serious about making progress and we fight over everything, including elections.

“The sponsors say all these because of the negative things they hear or read about Ghanaian musicians from our own people, and that is why I’m very convinced the recent outbursts of Akosua Adjepong and her ilk about GHAMRO should not be tolerated,” the Presence singer said.

Musicians openly condemning and, in some cases, rubbishing the works of various leadership groups such as the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and GHAMRO has been a way of expressing their displeasure.

For instance, MUSIGA is preparing to hold elections in August this year to select a new leadership after five years of legal battle since the last executives led by Bice Osei Kuffour(Obour) left office. This has been publicly condemned by its members.

On the other hand, GHAMRO has an interim board whose legality has been questioned by Akosua Adjepong and other members.

All these happenings have possibly affected the progress of musicians, hence the various criticisms. However, Bernard Amankwah believes that challenges are not peculiar to only musicians.