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Incorporate copyright into national
development agenda - GAPI
Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - The Ghana Association of Phonographic
Industries (GAPI), a group of Ghanaian music producers, on
Tuesday called on the government to incorporate the economic
importance of copyright into the national development
agenda, saying it promised to make more earnings for the
country than Cocoa.
"Over 12,000 songs have been recorded in the country at a
cost of US$600 million, which is what cocoa generates for
the country annually, so if priority is given to the sector,
funds generated could be used to fund the cocoa industry
instead of the usual borrowing," Mr. Francis Twum Mensah,
General Secretary of GAPI, told journalists. Ghana Cocoa
Board borrows money from banks to finance the purchase of
cocoa.
He was speaking a press conference organised by GAPI as part
of an advocacy initiative sponsored by Business Sector
Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) to enable copyright owners to
interact with the media as part of efforts to highlight the
need for long-term financing for the music industry.
Mr Mensah noted that research had shown that currently the
Ghanaian music had the potential of earning over US$350
million from the world market, adding that if the necessary
structures were put in place for effective administration,
promotion and distribution, the benefits would be
significant.
He said it was in this light that GAPI in collaboration with
Bach Technology, Norway, had finally decided to come to the
rescue of musicians, producers and distributors by coming up
with a proposed Copyright Investment Bank (CIB), which would
give long-term financing to producers and musicians.
A report on the economic potential of the music industry to
the economies of less developed countries (LDCs) indicated
that the industry promises to account for at least 40 per
cent of their GDPs if properly organised and managed.
Mr. Mensah said due to the obvious potential of the
industry, GAPI and its foreign partners had managed to get
the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Ministry of Finance and some banks
to buy into the idea of the CIB, adding, that in the next
six months the initial moves towards the establishment of
the bank would take off.
Mr Dagfin Bach, Chief Executive Officer of Bach Technology,
assured Ghanaian musicians that the package his company was
bringing the country had a potential to grow the music
industry, the individual musician and the economy as a
whole.
He said besides providing soft loans and grants to musicians
for the production of their music works, Bach would also
provide an avenue for online distribution of music works
through mobile phone download and internet sales.
"The benefit from the new system would be a change from
having a few thriving music labels to loads of labels
dominating the industry as a result of the shift from
physical sale of CDs and DVDs to the online distribution
which is faster and had a wider market reach," he said.
Mr Bach said the package would include a technology that
would monitor the use and sale of music works on mobile
phones, the internet, on radio and TV stations, in bars,
restaurants, hotels and even in moving vehicles to ensure
that musicians were paid appropriately for the use and sale
of their works.
Mrs Diana Hoperson, President of the Musicians Union of
Ghana (MUSIGA), told the GNA that the package from Bach
Technology and GAPI signified the break of dawn for
musicians in the country and called on all Ghanaian
musicians to put their weight behind the initiative to
ensure its success.
"I wish to urge my fellow musicians to put all their
differences aside and come together to support this
initiative which promises a better future for our industry
and for us as individuals," she said.
Mrs Hoperson also announced that MUSIGA was negotiating
another deal for musicians to earn money when their songs
were used as mobile phone ring tones, adding that such
negotiations required proper organisation, commitment and a
united front for success.
She said whereas there would not be discrimination in access
to support from the CIB, it was instructive for musicians to
note that the bank would rather deal with recognised and
easily identifiable members of a union like MUSIGA rather
than with isolated individual musicians.
GNA
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