To support Ghanaian music and art, the Creative Arts Agency Ghana recently launched the “Play Ghana” musical campaign.
The effort, which was started in partnership with musicians and other arts stakeholders, is to increase the percentage of Ghanaian music played at social gatherings and on the radio to 70%.
Furthermore, it is to guarantee that Ghanaian music and art are the highlights of the nation’s Christmas celebrations.
The time had come, according to Ms. Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, Director of Creative Arts Agency Ghana, to assess the Creative Art Sector with regard to local content.
She claimed that as most nations, including Nigeria, have enacted 7% domestic laws pertaining to the arts, Ghana could not be any different.
“We are pledging to push Ghanaian music to the forefront of our audiences, starting at home,” stated Ms. Akufo-Addo. In order to examine our local content restrictions, the Creative Arts Agency will work with stakeholders and participants in the music, film, and television industries.
She, therefore, called for the amendments to both the cultural policy and the broadcasting bill, taking inspiration from Nigeria’s 70 per cent local content law across music, film, and broadcasting.
Mark Okarku-Mantey, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, emphasized the significance of artist and music producer collaboration and cautioned that in the absence of such unity, Ghana could be vulnerable to the continuous infusion of foreign music.
Music industry entrepreneur Smallgod-Nana Appiasei voiced concern about Ghanaian music’s downfall and called for deliberate measures to raise local content to regional norms.
If the campaign is handled seriously, he said, it will not only enhance the festive mood with regional sounds but also open the door for Ghanaian music to have a more solid and sustainable future on the international scene.
Among the many musicians present at the event were Reggie Rockstone, Samini, Black Sherrif, and D-Black.