Dishonesty killing bands
An organist and member of the Afro Pop band, Ghana Big Shots, Reginald Quansah says though there are many bands and musicians in the country, most of them fade out or remain unheard of because some founders of bands are dishonest.
Advertisement
He said there is lack of transparency between founders of bands and band members where money is concerned and that leads to bands collapsing and eventually dying.
In an interview with Showbiz last Thursday, the third year music student at the University of Education, Winneba said, “you see, most band founders think they are the band. They forget that without the musicians who are the instrumentalists, there is no band. It is the people in the band who are the band.
“ So, the band goes for gigs and the founder charges a huge sum of money but lies in order to pay them less.
“Some of us musicians are also hungry for fame and desperate for money that we would take any money given us. It is when the band owner realises that the musicians are hungry for fame and would do anything for any amount that they take advantage of us.
‘‘Band players thrive on loyalty because they are a team, else they leave the group. So if they find out at the end of the day, which they always do, that the founder has been cheating them, they just leave and the band dies. That is what is killing the live band music industry in Ghana now. Working for someone who pays you well encourages you to bring out your best and you always make yourself available to them,’’ he said.
Quansah whose band performed at the 2014 Afrika Festival in Hertme, Germany said band owners were not the only culprits in the issue which is crippling the band music industry in the country.
‘‘For bands to survive, team members should be committed. Our musicians are very committed to the course. No wonder that out of the bands that competed in TV3’s Bands Alive 2008 competiton, only Big Shots is active, though we were evicted.
‘‘You cannot succeed in music if you are not committed to it. Most of the musicians in Ghanaian bands are not committed to it because they are just in for the fame. My band is so committed that out of the band’s 13 members, about 10 of us are music graduates and music students.
Quansah, a native of Winneba whose band also played for the Shekinah Glory Choir during TV3’s The Pulpit Season 2, had a word of advice for musicians and artistes in Ghana.
‘‘All musicians should focus on their music and do away with riding on beefs with others to sell themselves. Beefing is not healthy for the industry because in the end, it brings confusion between the fans and the musicians themselves.
“ Their fans insult each other. We shouldn’t be surprised that one day the communities these artistes come from will start fighting among themselves,’’ he concluded.