GAPI Fights For Music Industry

Francis Mensah Twum

A THREE-day advocacy training workshop for players in the music and creative industry has been held in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital.

The workshop, which was under the theme ‘Lack of Access to Long Term Finances- Copyright Investment Fund as the Solution’, was under the auspices of the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industries (GAPI).

Sponsored through the generosity of the Business Advisory Centre (BUSAC), the workshop was aimed at equipping players in the music and creative industry with the needed shrewdness to fight for the betterment of the industry.

The workshop, which was held at the plush Diamond Hotel at Dichemso, a suburb of the Manhyia constituency, was attended by captains in the music and creative industry among which were executive producers.

Addressing participants at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the project coordinator, Francis Mensah Twum, noted that it was about time the music and creative industry had new captains.

He emphasized that the industry did not only need fresh captains but people with required competence and commitment to push for vast improvement in the music and the creative industry.
Mr. Twum, who is also an executive music producer, stated that the music and the creative industry had not witnessed massive enhancement due to the absence of advocacy workshops to equip the players with the needed skills to fight for the industry.

In view of this, he, on behalf of GAPI, expressed sincere gratitude to BUSAC for coming to the aid of the music and creative industry by sponsoring the advocacy workshop.

Stressing that lack of access to long term financing was a major bane to the industry’s progress, Mr. Twum said the establishment of a copyright investment fund was the solution to the problem.

Against this background, he pointed out that the association would do everything possible to make the establishment of the fund a reality, indicating that the government had a big role in that direction.
The project coordinator disclosed that they would prepare a memo to government to factor the setting aside of a special amount as seed capital for the fund in the 2012 budget.

Mr. Twum contended that the government ought to assist them in setting up the fund because they lost huge sums of money due to government’s failure to pass the copyright law on time.

According to him, the music and the creative industry lost colossal amounts of money as a result of the passage of the copyright law which took nine years to come to reality.

The project coordinator urged the government to buy the idea of assisting the establishment of the fund, pointing out that the government would derive huge benefits should the fund be established.

From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi