Carlos Sakyi returns Sidiku’s fire

Carlos Sakyi, star keyboardist and one of the notable agitators of change in the music industry, has stated that players in the industry are not scaring investors away as claimed by Alhaji Sidiku Buari.

According to him, it is rather the actions of the leadership of the industry that have horrified potential investors and turned the fortunes of the industry upside down.

Mr. Sakyi was reacting to a story carried by the ‘Spectator’ in last week’s issue of the paper, in which Alhaji Sidiku Buari was reported as blaming musicians for denigrating the music industry and scaring off investors.

Carlos Sakyi who belongs to the newly formed Professional Musicians Association of Ghana (PROMAG) whose membership includes the likes of Rex Omar, Kojo Antwi, Charles Amoah, Amakye Dede, Bessa Simons and Tagoe Sisters, said Alhaji Buari’s assertion cannot be tenable since it is deceptive and ill-conceived.

For instance, said Carlos, PROMAG had to be formed because the leadership of the music industry had lost all sense of direction and virtually turned the viable sector into a circus, a parody and an apology of what it should have been today.

“We decided to form the association to bring some sanity into the music industry whose leadership was no longer accountable to musicians and composers. The Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) for instance has never rendered account of its stewardship,” he charged. “They also have not been able to deal strenuously with payola and piracy. Even the logging system has not been enforced”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sakyi, on behalf of stakeholders in the industry, has called on the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to set up a probe into the activities of COSGA before the society is disbanded.

He said COSGA was a public institution, but the money it has in its coffers is for musicians and composers to whom, only, the society must be accountable.

“The sad news is that musicians have no idea what they are due, what is in the coffers for them, how their monies are invested, what interest have accrued. Several donors have been said to donate to musicians’ fund and nobody knows how much and how those monies have been disbursed,” he said.

According to him, it is only a probe into the industry that can set the records straight.

Asked if the formation of PROMAG will not further deepen the woes of the industry and polarise members, Mr. Sakyi was of the opinion that, first and foremost, people must have a choice in all spheres of society as guaranteed by the constitution.

He referred to GPRTU and PROTAG among others as examples of breakaways that have brought about positive results through competitiveness.

He said a new legal instrument is operational making allowance for the formation of other associations apart from MUSIGA.

Asked what the state of the music industry is, currently, he described it as a “leaking basket” that has no operational system, a system that is not based on knowledge and its application. It is operating on the premise of ignorance.

“In short,” he said, “the entire system is dysfunctional.”

Asked how the industry can be revived for investors to be interested, Carlos Sakyi said, there was no need to talk about investors now.

“We can only talk about investors when the industry is purged of all the filth and improprieties bedeviling it. The system must be put right first before we start thinking about investors,” he said.

He wondered who will invest in an industry that has no accounting regimen, logging system to determine how artistes should be remunerated; a sector that does not hold general meetings and is not accountable to its own members quite in contrast to what pertains in countries like South Africa which boasts of a well-organised and structured musician’s union.

Asked about the way forward, he said LI 1527 that regulates the industry must be made fully operational after a thorough probe into the industry for Ghanaians to know the state in which the music industry is today.