MUSIGA Displeased with Stonebwoy, Zylofon

The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), has expressed its displeasure following last Saturday’s fracas between Dancehall artiste Stonebwoy and his record label Zylofon Media.

MUSIGA President, Bice Osei Kuffuor (Obour), told Showbiz on Monday the Union is not happy with the happenings and will take steps to address it.

There was drama last Saturday at the Champs Bar inside Paloma Hotel, Accra, between Stonebwoy’s camp and some officials of Zylofon including Artiste&Repertoire Manager, Bulldog.

Attempts by the Transport Manager of Zylofon to retrieve a car from Stonebwoy led to scuffles resulting in the Dancehall artiste’s younger brother being assaulted. Stonebwoy himself fired some shots which he has since said was for self-defence.

According to Obour, “We find it sad that things had to get to that level of people wanting to use force to deal with issues. Both parties were wrong, our industry has not gotten to that level yet.

MUSIGA seriously frowns on this,” he said.

He disclosed that the matter was on their agenda for discussion before the Union lost its administrator, Rev Fiifi Khan Agyakwa but they had already delegated one of their officials to handle it.

“We will get to the bottom of the issue, we will speak to both Stonebwoy and Zylofon and find the best solution for all but we would like to encourage artistes and labels to use dialogue to resolve their issues and not to take the law into their own hands,” he stated.

The Stonebwoy-Zylofon issues have been trending for a while now. Rumours have been rife that the award winning act, who signed on to the label last year, had left.

Before the Champs Bar incident, reports indicated that the manager of Stonebwoy, who performed at an event at the University of Ghana, Legon, ordered all Zylofon branded items on display be removed since the artiste was no longer with the outfit.

The incidents have spurred some anxiety among players in the entertainment industry but critic, Arnold Asamoah Baidoo says there is nothing to worry about.

For him, issues between record labels and artistes are prevalent worldwide.

“Fortunately in times of conflict, there’s always a contract to refer to in a bid to find solutions.

If the artiste is not happy with the label and wants to exit, he can but he has to seek proper legal counsel in that regard,” he told Showbiz.

He condemned what ensued at Champs Bar but was sure it will not escalate. “No, not at this stage. Already Zylofon is taking some drastic measures over the incident. The Transport Manager has been fired and more shake-ups are expected.

“Moving forward, I think dialogue and legal intervention are the ways to go in resolving issues between artistes and their record labels.

We just need to learn. There are so many examples of artistes breaking contracts with labels and they were done amicably,” he said.

Renowned Sound Engineer, Appietus, who has also managed some artistes said “It was wrong in the first place for Stonebwoy to say he wouldn’t have signed on to Zylofon Media if he knew the CEO of Zylofon Media, Nana Appiah Mensah was going to sign Shatta Wale who is also a Dancehall artiste.

“I want Stonebwoy to know that there are a lot of record labels all over the world which have signed several artistes doing the same genre of music,” he said.

For Appietus, it would be unfortunate for Nana Appiah Mensah also known as NAM 1 to pull out of the industry because of recent events.

“A lot of producers are afraid to invest heavily in the industry because of some of these things and I urge that NAM 1 is supported to achieve his dream.

NAM1 could have decided to invest his money in real estate business or anything profitable. Let’s support him rather than wish for his downfall,” Appietus said.

Source: Graphic Showbiz