Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed that Ghana’s first local music streaming app is set to be launched in November, this year.
Dr Bawumia made this announcement during an engagement with stakeholders from the creative arts industry on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, expressing the need for an indigenous solution to better support local musicians and filmmakers.
Addressing a crowd of enthusiastic creatives, Dr Bawumia proudly stated, “I’m very happy to let you know that the work has been completed.”
He emphasised the importance of a local platform to ensure fair compensation for Ghanaian artistes, adding that current international streaming services fail to provide sufficient financial returns to local talent.
“Spotify and other platforms are externally owned, so it’s not surprising that the payments to our musicians are very little,” he remarked.
According to the Vice President, the new platform is worth every investment and will address this imbalance by creating a space dedicated to Ghanaian content creators. “The issue for us has been to ensure we have a local streaming platform where we can put all the catalogues from A to Z that we can find in Ghana,” he explained. He added, “If I put $100 million worth of investment in the creative arts sector, I’m telling you that the returns will be high.”
The app’s primary goal, Dr Bawumia highlighted, is to help content creators maximise their earnings, accurately track royalties, and provide a framework for better revenue management. “We are ready to launch the first local streaming platform for Ghanaian musicians and film producers next month, in November,” he reiterated, receiving cheers from the audience.
The initiative has been well-received by industry stakeholders, who have long called for a more equitable model for content monetisation. With this new platform, musicians and filmmakers are expected to benefit from an improved revenue structure and greater control over their works, contributing to the sustainable growth of the creative arts industry in Ghana.
This development marks a significant step forward in supporting Ghanaian talent and empowering local creatives to reap greater financial rewards from their hard work and creativity, a leading industry player stated.
