Our end product must be a priority - Industry players to artistes

The comparisons between the Ghanaian music industry and those of other countries, especially Nigeria, will definitely continue.

Apart from concern about how Nigerian songs are dominating our airwaves, there have been questions about how our songs and artistes have not been able to attain the heights their counterparts in Nigeria have done globally.
 
Well, industry players have given their reasons we seem to be lagging behind and for some of them, our artistes need to pay more attention to their end product.
 
Sound engineer, Appietus, said the end product was one of the biggest problems of Ghanaian musicians and why they can’t penetrate the international market, putting the Nigerians and other countries ahead of us.

“When it comes to music, our guys are not doing badly but the problem has to do with our mastering which is the end product. Most musicians in Ghana will not go to a professional for mastering so the final work does not meet international standards.

“The likes of Nana Acheampong, Kojo Antwi, Daddy Lumba, and most musicians in Ghana I know were travelling outside to Bodo Staiger, a German musician and producer to master their works. Kojo Antwi never allowed a black man to master his work but I mastered Adiepena which was a whole album.

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“These seasoned musicians paid attention to the end product and that is why their music always sounds great but that seems to be missing lately. Just a handful of musicians go to professionals for the final product,” he told Graphic Showbiz.

Adding his voice to the conservation, artiste manager, Mr Logic said apart from the end product, there is a lot Ghanaian musicians need to do.

According to him, there is the need to get the right content, as well as blend the local languages with English to attract foreigners.
 
“When I talk about content, I mean we need to move away from the love songs. You see, 80 per cent of our songs are about love. We need to move away from it and talk about other things. We are lagging behind in so many things and we need to speed up.

“Also, we need to market our songs outside because it looks like our songs are just meant for the Ghanaian market. We must do songs that travel beyond Ghana, when we know our target audience outside and do the right music for them, we can get our music across,” he disclosed.

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Hitz FM presenter Andy Dosty also agreed with Appietus, adding that sometimes, the final products of some of our musicians are not good for airplay.

“It is as if young musicians are just in a hurry to hit the studio to record anything, get the name and start performing for money without paying attention to the end product. When it comes to music, we are really doing a fantastic job but these little things are the major concern we should address, it is very necessary,” he said.

According to Andy Dosty, as far as he is concerned, Ghanaians are doing better than Nigerian musicians but just have to put in a little more and they will get there.

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Musician Kofi Kinaata told Graphic Showbiz that to get international recognition just like the Nigerians, they need to do more international collaborations and have reps in other countries who will push their music.

“The Nigerian musicians and other musicians from other African countries are daring and would get the right people on board to get them where they want to go and that is what we should be looking at,” he said.