Musicians urged to perform with live bands

Accra, Aug. 12, GNA - Alhaji Sidiku Buari, President of the Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), on Friday urged Ghanaian musicians to start performing with live bands, as this makes music more interesting. He said recent development on the international music scene showed that musicians were switching from miming to live band musical performances and it was imperative for Ghanaian musicians to follow.

Alhaji Buari said this at the launch of three international albums by Goodies Music Production, an organization that supports musicians. Vision In Progress (VIP), A Ghanaian hip-life trio, Afro Moses, a Ghanaian international musician and Juli Endee, a cultural ambassador of Liberia, produced the albums.

The title tracks "Pussy Cat" by VIP, "I Do" by Afro Moses and "Wakki" from Juli Endee will be publicly launched in November this year in Kumasi and Accra.

Alhaji Buari said MUSIGA had live musical instruments at their headquarters for interested musicians to practice with.

He urged musicians to take musical instruments when they travelled outside the country, as they were tax-free.

He advised musicians to target the African market, which was fertile and relatively large.

"Looking at the population in Africa, if a musician is able to sell just two per cent of his/her production on the continent, he or she will definitely make it big," he held.

Alhaji Buari said one worrying issue for MUSIGA was that of piracy and commended Parliament for passing the new Copyright Bill into law, which would help musicians.

He urged media houses to strengthen the log system where all musical items played on air were logged to ensure that musicians got fair share of royalties.

Alhaji Buari commended VIP and Afro Moses for working hard to put Ghana on the international music map.

"It is quite significant that VIP has been acknowledged by the United Nations and contracted to perform peace concerts in Liberia and Sierra Leone."

He announced that MUSIGA had contracted a lawyer to vet all contracts and engagements to ensure that no musician was disadvantaged. Mr Isaac Abeidu-Aidoo, Chief Executive Officer of Goodies Music Production, said the albums would be used to entertain and educate the public about pressing issues in the society.

He announced that VIP had instituted the "Vision Scholarship and Development Fund" to help needy children, especially of school-going age at Nima in Accra.

The fund would also be used to support the Ghana Education Service FCUBE programme.

Alhaji Futa II, Chief of Nima, urged musicians to ensure that their lyrics promoted the society's cultural values.

The Vision In Progress group presented two million cedis as seed money to the fund.