Mandate of GAPI board renewed

Following the good work done by the board of trustees of the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry (GAPI) during its two-year term of office, the entire membership has added two more years to its term.

The members arrived at the decision when the current board whose term of office expired this year was asked to stay at post to enable it initiate all its programmes, as two years was inadequate in implementing most of them.

Members of the Kumasi branch of the association have also pledged their support for the move.

With two years in office, the board had done so much for the association and the music industry in Ghana, and still had a number of projects in the pipeline to implement.

The board, within two years, had managed to reduce the rate of piracy, collected royalty on behalf of its members, organized seminars and workshops for its members and stakeholders in the industry among others.

The membership of GAPI, made up of music producers in Ghana, at a meeting agreed to amend the constitution of the association to enable its elected board of trustees stay in office for a period of four years instead of two.

After much deliberation, the members of the board of trustees were mandated to stay in office for another two years, after which elections would be held to elect new executives for another four-year term.

The board of trustees, at the meeting nominated Mark Okraku Mantey as the association’s public relations coordinator, to create a new image for the association and also work hand-in-hand with the members toward the successful running of the association.

At the meeting, the general secretary of the association, Mensah Twum briefed members on the offer by Media Store for a partnership in which GAPI would be used as a clearing house for CDs for Media Store for the distribution of local musical products on a 312 square-meter shop floor on the Osu-Labadi highway, an idea the members embraced.

He told the members that the shop would take consignments and expand distribution to other outfits in Africa and Europe.

According to him, the association would also use CAN 2008 as a marketing platform by holding forecourt concerts during the soccer fiesta.

The meeting as well discussed the formation of a new collective society for the music industry.

The general secretary briefed members about the on-going project funded by BUSAC for the long-term finance of the music industry, which was widely accepted by the members.