Ghanaian music executive Kwesi Ernest has expressed concern over what he describes as the reluctance of some Ghanaian artistes to travel to other African countries to promote their music.
According to him, Ghanaian musicians have built a strong reputation across the continent, with some of their songs performing well on music charts outside Ghana.
However, he believes many artistes are not doing enough to take advantage of the growing interest in Ghanaian music across Africa.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM on August 25, 2026, Kwesi Ernest shared his experience travelling to several African countries through his work.
He specifically cited Côte d’Ivoire, where he attended the African Music Business Summit and spent about five days.
“I’ve had the privilege to travel to a lot of African countries because of my work. I went to Côte d’Ivoire for the African Music Business Summit and I was there for like five days,” he said.
Kwesi Ernest stated that his experience in the country made him realise the level of admiration and respect some Ghanaian artistes command across Africa.
“I can tell you that the dominance, you go to Côte d’Ivoire and you see how they treasure our top artistes, you will be shocked,” he shared.
Organisers failed to prepare for Shatta Wale's crowd – Kwesi Ernest on ShattaFest UK
He further revealed that some Ghanaian artistes are topping charts in other African countries, despite not making deliberate efforts to travel there and connect with their audiences.
“Some of the artistes from Ghana are topping charts in some of these African countries, but the artistes themselves here are reluctant to travel to some of these jurisdictions and promote themselves,” he stated.
The music executive described the situation as worrying, arguing that artistes should not limit their promotional activities to releasing songs and appearing on local media platforms.
“Sometimes, it gets a bit worrying because our artistes only release songs and go on media tours. You would see the flyers everywhere and that’s it,” he noted.
Kwesi Ernest believes Ghanaian musicians must adopt a broader strategy by deliberately targeting other African markets where their music already enjoys significant attention.
He urged artistes to travel, perform, network and engage directly with fans and industry players in these countries.
“Let’s make this an important factor for our artistes to engage other African countries. Even within just Africa, there’s more money to be made,” he added.
“Some Ghanaian artistes are topping charts in other countries, but they are reluctant to travel there and build on their success.” — Kwesi Ernest#DaybreakHitz #Hitz1039Fm pic.twitter.com/qGi8EUjNuN
— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) August 25, 2026 FG/EB Osebo the Zaraman opens up on life, fashion and controversies Source: www.ghanaweb.com