Are Ghanaian Musicians Broke?

What is the issue?

The assertion that music does not pay in Ghana is a well-established fact mostly corroborated by industry players including some A- list artist.

Though everything about music in Ghana looks glamorous and luxurious, it seems that it all it is, it just looks like it! The flashy cars, outlandish houses, fame, and all the specs that draw attention to the industry are all facades.

The biggest challenge faced by most Ghanaian musicians is converting their craft, skill, sweat, and fame into money to support their lifestyle without having to take on a side job. Though a handful of them have made a decent living out of music.

Why is this worth discussing?

In a recent interview with a former Ghanaian musician, Nhyirahba Kojo, he affirmed the assertion that most Ghanaian musicians are broke and that their fame doesn’t correlate with their pockets and accounts. He further supported his point with the fact that though music is showbiz: show and business, the show aspect outweighs the business part in the Ghanaian music industry.

In the past, this idea has also been continually mentioned by a Ghanaian dancehall artiste Shatta wale who believes that most of the famous Ghanaian musicians were poor and did not know the business aspect of music.

Also, some young arts in Ghana have also confirmed this story in a series of interviews but were still not perturbed in their quest of pursuing music in Ghana.

These avowals have not only been debated and denied by some top musicians in Ghana, it also created a feud between musicians who were mentioned as broke, and those who mentioned them.

There are also the cases of veteran Ghanaian musicians living in abject poverty though they did music for the most part of their lives and could be categorized as A- list artists in their era.

Is this a problem of structures or lack of education for Ghanaian musicians?