WHERE IS OUR ROYALTIES? SAMINI WANTS ANSWERS
Samini has questioned the Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGHA) on why some artistes are not paid royalties by those mandated to collect and pay artistes for their works. According to him, he is yet to receive any form of royalty despite being in the music industry for a decade.
‘I was at a meeting at MUSIGHA were I inquired about royalties. I was told the likes of Kojo Antwi and Amakye Dede are not even paid royalties let alone me’, he disclosed in an interview with KOD on GHOne TV.
The multiple award winning artiste said it is hard to accept that he is paid royalties by international royalty collection agencies such as Napster but not here in Ghana by the Musicians Union.
On how royalty payment could be enhanced, he called for the clocking system used by radio stations around the world, where artistes whose songs are played receive payment.
The MOBO award winner rejected the notion that new medium of releasing music (via social media platforms) should not affect royalty payments since radio stations play these songs and must pay for it.
Samini who is celebrating ten (10) years in the music industry chided TV stations for charging artistes before playing their videos arguing that these videos are content for these TV stations. ‘Some of these TV stations even use our videos to market products and don’t see the need to pay us’.
Ten years ago, the then young 21 year old Samini (then Batman) released his debut single “Linda’ to critical acclaim in 2004 after featuring on more than a dozen songs for other artists. Since then he has continued to stay relevant in the music industry.
On how he has still remained relevant all these years, the ‘Time Bomb’ hits maker attributed his longevity to his youthfulness and adaptability to new technology. ‘I’m still young though I’ve been on the scene for a decade. I’ve witnessed the changing phases of music-from the days of cassettes, discs, mini discs to now music in our palms’. I’m part of this movement’.
The issue of royalty collection and payment has been one of the thorny issues confronting the music industry for many years. The issue has resulted in some musicians breaking away from the mother union (MUSIGHA) to form their own copyright association.
