Seasoned artiste manager and entertainment commentator Nana Poku Ashis has called on the organisers of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMAs) to change the voting process for the Artiste of the Year category.

According to him, the prestigious award should be determined exclusively by public vote.

Speaking in an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Nana Poku Ashis noted that the academy and board members do not fully grasp the influence and relevance of artistes and that disqualifies them from making the best decision for the award.

He stated that the general public is more familiar with the impact of the music released by the artistes, making them the most qualified to select the winner.

“Same with the Song of the Year, we all know, it is the public that actually know which particular song was the biggest hit in the year under review.

“But then when the technicalities come to add up to it, it takes it from who was actually supposed to win. Once they say it's a populist award, they should leave that overall artiste and most popular song of the year to the public to vote,” he said.

Ashis further called for a regular shuffling of the board and academy members to bring in new perspectives and ideas.

“I think they should change people on the board from time to time. Some of these people have been there for too long, and they've written the same notes over and over again. It's not refreshing. It's about time they bring in new people with new ideas.

“The young generation is different. See, some of our old people do not understand what is going on now with the younger generation and the trends of music they are doing. So if you keep the same people on the board for too long, you'll be frustrating most of new crop of artistes and the kind of productions they bring out,” he said.

ID/ ADG