General News of Saturday, 23 July 2016

Source: ghanareporter.com

Akosua Agyapong accuses GHAMRO of not paying musicians’ royalties

Akosua Agyapong Akosua Agyapong

According to veteran songstress, Akosua Agyapong Ghanaian musicians have not been paid royalties since December last year.

She told Hitz Fm on Friday that though Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), the only government approved copyright collective management organization for music had collected huge monies on behalf of musicians, they (musicians) have for the past seven (7) or eight (8) months not received what is due them.

“Last year December they said there was no money, so they didn’t pay us. We complain bitterly but there was not we could do. Now we had a general meeting in Kumasi and we all went and they promised paying monies in June.

They now telling us they have been able to collect few royalties to the tune of five hundred and thirty-five thousand Ghana Cedis (GH? 535,000) …which they have used to buy motors and to get offices for GHMRO. How can you use our royalties to do these things though government gives you money,” she said.

“We are giving them up to Wednesday if they don’t pay the musicians it will be a different story,” she added.

Akosua’s complains give a negative impression that all is not well with the current GHAMRO administration though it wasn’t like that months back.