Abeiku Santana urges hotels to promote highlife music

Abeiku Santana has called on all managers of hotels in the country to use their facilities to promote Ghanaian highlife music and culture.

The Okay FM’s Drive Time Programme host also stated that since hotels are a special point of contact for travellers and tourists who visit the country, there is the need to play Ghanaian music and display made-in-Ghana products to create the awareness of the creative industry.

In an interview with Joy News‘ MzGee, Abeiku Santana, who believes that working together with the hospitality industry is a major way of marketing and selling Ghanaian music and culture, declared that if Ghanaian highlife music is played at the hotels in the country, it would help in the promotion of Ghana’s rich creative industry to the outside world.

“I will plead with MUSIGA to strike deals with the hotels. When one travels to East Africa and South Africa, they perform their local music in all the big hotels,” Abeiku Santana reiterated.

He added, “MUSIGA can consult the Ghana Tourism Federation, Tour Operators Union of Ghana or Ghana Tourism Authority on how musicians can work together with the hospitality industry because it’s also the first port of call we can market or sell our songs.”

The radio presenter believes that working together with the hospitality industry will also create opportunity for the stakeholders in the music industry.

“They should have selected days to play music, not only African music but once you are a guest in the hotel you should have a feel of Ghana, it must be done in all the ‘star-rated hotels’,” he said.

According to him, “MUSIGA should spread it members across and strike a deal with the hotels. Playing local music once a month or week and getting an amount of ¢300 or ¢500 is better than nothing.”

“They need a forum that they can solicit ideas, people they should desist from attacking the union. They should say good things about themselves and change the negative narrative,” he observed.