Rapper and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Avenue Musik, D-Black, has strongly criticized the Ghana Music Right Organization (GHAMRO) and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), labeling them as ineffective organizations.
He expressed deep frustration over GHAMRO’s failure to distribute royalties to musicians, which has had a detrimental impact on the financial well-being of artists, including himself.
D-Black highlighted the lack of accountability within GHAMRO and MUSIGA as a significant obstacle hampering the progress of the music industry and placing many musicians in challenging circumstances.
During an interview on JoyPrime’s Celeb Biz Show, he vented his frustration at GHAMRO for failing to pay his royalties and called for greater transparency and accountability within these organizations.
“If I will speak bluntly, I would say that the structures that are in place for our music industry are terrible. GHAMRO is a terrible organization. There’s no accountability. I don’t know how much revenue I’ve made from GAMRO in my 13 years in the music industry,” he fumed.
“They’ve attempted to [pay the royalties], but there’s no accountability. You can’t tell me, oh, this is what we are giving everybody. It doesn’t make any sense. When we receive our royalties from outside of the country, you get reports.”
He further disclosed that in foreign countries, records of the performance of songs are readily available, but the situation is different in the case of Ghana.
He further indicated that GHAMRO refused to accept assistance from foreign organizations to aid their operations.
“In New Zealand, the song was played 77 times between the months of May and August. On Spotify on, Apple Music, all this data is there. I know companies that are ready to come and assist Ghana for free, to set up organizations to track our music and disburse our royalties properly. GHAMRO refused to do so for whatever reason. I don’t know.”