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Good deejays often liven up events with appropriate mixes
Good deejays often liven up events with appropriate mixes

MUSIGA urges better remuneration for deejays

The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has urged the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), musicians, night club owners, bars and all outfits that engage the services of disc jockeys to have a look at their conditions of service and provide more satisfactory levels of remuneration for them.

The MUSIGA appeal, issued through a statement signed by Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, the union’s Director of Communications and Special Projects, came on the back of a campaign by some DJs on social media and other outlets to galvanise support for better remuneration and conditions of work.

A disc jockey, DJ or deejay, is a person who mixes recorded music as it is playing. Originally, the "disc" in "disc jockey" referred to gramophone records, but now "DJ" is used as an all-encompassing term to describe someone who mixes recorded music from any sources, including compact discs (CDs) or digital audio files.

MUSIGA said though the call in itself was noble, it found the bit about musicians being requested to make payments to DJs to facilitate the playing of their music as unacceptable and unfortunate.

“We condemn in no uncertain terms, the call for the institutionalization of unofficial back door payments (Payola). The practice is both illegal and unethical. In fact, it is an endorsement of corruption which is a problem the nation is vigorously struggling to battle and kick out,” the statement said.

MUSIGA said it was aware artistes pay DJs handsomely when they engage their services for shows.

“Beyond this, some artistes actually go out of their way to show appreciation to DJs who have and continue to support their careers.  We will therefore call for better collaboration, partnership and mutual support for greater industry cohesion.”

The union pointed out that it was willing to engage DJs in discussion to help address their issues.

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