Musicians and composers are not into music for only the fame and glamour.

They are into music to make a living. That is how they feed and look after their off springs and even their forebears. That is how they clothe, board and lodge. Their very survival is hinged on the prospects of their works.

Any award a musician receives must, therefore, contribute to (or her) sustenance, not to his misery.

When a musician?s prize is set of musical instruments, it can be the source of his income, instead of getting honoured with a piece of wood nicknamed a plague and a piece of paper christened a certificate.

When a musician is not awarded musical instruments, at least he or must receive cash because the event is sponsored and it is expected that those who benefit from the sponsorship are the poor but hardworking composers and performers some of whom are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet. They need money, they need instruments, and they need contracts, not fanciful decorative pieces.

Any award for musician must be geared primarily towards making circumstances better in all aspects. Any award that is sponsored but does not give deserving prizes must be seriously questioned because first, the awardees are not better-off in any way, and the sponsor?s contributions may not have been judiciously.

Faisal Helwani once again takes issues with the awards and every thing that has to do with it. He is even surprised that gate fee were charged yet what the poor struggling musicians received was nothing resembling currency.

?As far as I know gate fee are not charged at awards ceremonies. People attend only by invitations,? he said. ?So far the Ghana Music Awards what should be done if ever they would listen, is to invite those whose make up the totality of the music industry, not only politicians. Those who must be invited as is done elsewhere are media critics and reviewers, promoters, producers and distributors who must necessarily be part of this occasion.?

Mr. Helwani calls it an industry event and said all record companies, sound engineers and all stakeholders must be invited. That makes it a complete event.

The airwaves have been replete with a thousand and one reasons why the 2003 awards didn?t match up to what was expected. Many cited undeserving awards, confusing categories awards given to mimers and not performers (who are the real musicians) and others.

?On the awards proper, he generalizes: Ghana Music Awards does in no way, under any stretch of the imagination, represent Ghanaian musicians instead of awarding some traditional musicians also, most of those awarded are rather puppets of American street funk whose works are more western in character and outlook than Ghanaian.?