GHAMRO partners other firms to track usage of songs produced by Ghanaians

The Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) has announced that it has entered into an agreement with some companies to provide digital monitoring systems to help in tracking how songs by Ghanaian musicians are used on radio, television, and digital platforms.

Speaking at a press conference on August 31, 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of GHAMRO, Abraham Adjatey said the long wait for getting a digital means of monitoring music, is over.

“GHAMRO has committed to an agreement with Global Music Monitoring to monitor music throughout the country for us, with the assistance of Ghud Music. Because as much as we are going to have some foreign-based company working with us, we should also be able to develop our local and internal capacity. So we are going to continue working with Ghud Music to develop a proper template as a developing system,” he said.

He added that they are working with Indie Consortium to develop a collection system for the organisation.

He said they have contracted CAPASSO, a copyright society in South Africa versed in Digital Rights Licensing, to monitor online digital platforms for Ghanaian songs. According to him, after the exercise, they have been able to make $49,000 for GHAMRO right owners.

Abraham also noted that Global Music Monitoring has for the past five months been doing an auto-pilot of broadcast monitoring of Ghanaian music.

He said after monitoring 300 stations in Ghana over the period, they are convinced and ready to work with them. This means that the organisation will now be able to get a more scientific means of calculating musician’s royalties.

This scientific data will help in the equitable distribution of royalties among musicians who have signed their works with GHAMRO.

He further stated that GHAMRO had to rely on foreign companies to assist in the monitoring because most of the Ghanaian-based companies, did not have the full capacity to do so.

Who deserves royalties?

Abraham Adjatey was emphatic on the need for musicians to sign split sheets of contributors to their works.

He said that provides metadata on who should receive payment of royalties on a particular musical work.

In tandem with that, he said GHAMRO will provide copies of the split sheets to the recording studios, so musicians commit to making sure they enter the right details.

He, therefore, urged lyricists, composers, arrangers, publishers to sign their right with GHAMRO to enjoy the benefits that come with it.

 

Source: citinewsroom.com