Music industry stakeholders called Wednesday for stronger copyright administration and fairer royalties at MTN Ghana’s Digital Music Conference in Accra, as artists continue earning little despite growing digital streams.
The conference, held at MTN House, gathered over 100 participants including artists, rights administrators, publishers and digital platform managers to address structural gaps that prevent Ghana’s expanding digital music reach from translating into sustainable income.
Founder of GH Music Publishing, Diana Hopeson, pointed to the core problem in blunt terms: “It’s time MTN were not only seen as a communications company.” She called for a future that enables artists to sell music directly through digital platforms rather than depending solely on ringtone-based revenue tools.
She stressed that stronger copyright administration and improved royalty structures are essential if artists are to capture fair value from digital consumption, noting that current arrangements do not adequately reward creators relative to the scale of their audience.
Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) President Bessa Simons reinforced that point, arguing that organised representation and formal participation within industry institutions remain foundational to negotiating equitable outcomes for musicians. He urged stronger unity among creatives to improve collective bargaining power.
Media and entertainment executive Baba Sadiq added a data dimension, telling delegates that digital platforms’ most underused value lies in the audience intelligence they generate, not just the reach they provide. He argued that artists who understand audience behaviour, geography and engagement patterns are better positioned to build durable careers.
Bless Sefenu Agordjo, Senior Manager for Digital Services and Verticals at MTN Ghana, acknowledged that streaming income alone often requires consumption volumes that remain out of reach for most emerging artists. He positioned the Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) alongside platforms such as PlayUP and Boomplay as complementary monetisation channels while committing to deeper collaboration with the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GAMRO), producers and rights holders to improve transparency across the value chain.
Music executive D-Black, founder of Black Avenue Music, described CRBT as “a very overlooked revenue stream” and encouraged artists to integrate it more fully into their earnings strategies.
The conference closed with consensus that sustainable income for Ghanaian artists will require structural reform across copyright enforcement, royalty distribution and data literacy, not platform adoption alone.
