Ghanaian Taste for Foreign Music Affects Local Industry

Mr Zapp Mallet, Sound Engineer and Music Producer on Wednesday urged Ghanaians to appreciate Ghanaian musicians and patronize their songs to boost the creative arts industry.

He said the quest for foreign music to the neglect of the local songs had affected the industry adding that if care was not taken, the Ghanaian music especially highlife songs would lose it relevance.

Mr Mallet said this in Accra when he interacted with students of the African University College of Communications (AUCC) on the theme “Why Some Great Works Don’t Sometimes Work”.

The forum was part of activities to mark the first anniversary of the “AUCC Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing’’.

The Centre named after Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, a prominent Ghanaian poet, novelist and playwright who contributed her achievement in the creative writing industry was launched in March 2017.

“Dancehall or reggae music cannot take over the Ghanaian music and that those who say that must stop because we are doing ourselves more harm than good. Now if you are a musician and you don’t do dancehall or reggae, then you can’t make it,” he said.

He blamed radio stations and event organisers for adding to the problem, explaining that radio presenters refuse to play music from other genres while event organisers also go for young artistes, neglecting the older musicians.

He said Ghanaians today are more interested in danceable music to the neglect of other music, urging all and sundry to appreciate and support our own musicians to boost the creative arts industry.

Mr Mallet who had worked with highlife musicians such as Tagoe Sisters, Daasebre Dwamena, Samini, Lord Kenya, Reggie Rockstone, Okyeame Kwame and Nana Quame, said Ghanaians have now embraced dancehall and reggae music to the neglect of other genres.

Mr Socrate Sarfo, Director of Programmes, National Commission on Culture and a Movie Producer said the African movie industry was among the biggest movie industries in the world but the recent influx of foreign content-movies had been a challenge to the industry.

He said the infiltration of foreign culture when not addressed can affect the country’s culture and identity.

Mr Sarfo urged the students, who aspire to be movie producers to study the environment, identify a target audience and implore promotional strategies to create attention for the production of the movie.

Nana S. Achampong, the Director at the AUCC Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing said the Centre as part of programmes for the anniversary, had invited writers to submit original works for consideration in its maiden anthology ‘Adabraka: Stories from the Centre of the World.

Mr Achampong said the Centre hosted Nana Nyarko Boateng, a short story writer and brought school children in the school for her to read to, organised workshops and writing clinics and launched the community reading programme dubbed “One book One Community to support literacy drive.

Source: GNA