Music Copyrights Administrator Seidu Iddrisu has revealed that legendary highlife musician, Gyedu Blay Ambolley is a top earner when it comes to music royalties collection in Ghana. In an interview with SVTV Africa, Seidu indicated Gyedu Blay was enlightened to the copyrights discussion earlier than others.
“Ambolley, for instance, understood these things back then. So he is one of our top earners, and his songs are doing well in Europe, Asia, and America. They don’t use your music for free, they pay for it, and the works are registered properly. He also tours a lot,” he revealed.
The publishing executive added that about 60% of Ghanaian artistes do not make money from their creative works because the music industry lacks the right system for cash backs. He also stated that many are not privy to split sheets and their advantages.
“I have been in the industry for 11 to 12 years, and the main goal that we want to achieve is to educate people about all this. Because when you don’t get gigs anymore, then you would not know where to get money. On the other side of the world, that is what they do,” he told the host DJ Nyaami.
Seidu Iddrisu is a Senior Copyright Administrator for West and Central Africa at Sheer Publishing based in South Africa. He works with several Ghanaian and Nigerian artistes like Shatta Wale, Nat Brew, Rex Omar, Paapa Yankson, Stonebwoy, etc.
Kindly watch the full interview below;
