Streaming in Ghana, although relatively new, has been a major bone of contention in the music industry.

At the end of every year, social media goes up in flames when streaming platforms release their lists of the most-played songs in the country for the year.

The age-old claims of lack of support and influence of foreign music flood the discussion topics, showing that streaming is here to stay.

During his lecture series in Accra on February 7, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president and NPP flagbearer, promised to introduce digital and streaming platforms for artists as part of his vision for the creative arts industry.

He also promised to build on the success of the Year of Return, Beyond the Return, and December in Ghana initiatives, provide tax incentives for film producers and implement an e-visa policy for tourists.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I will also have a major focus on policies, tax and other incentives to increase private and public investment in tourism, creative arts and sports for more job creation. We will build on the Year of Return, Beyond the Return, December in Ghana.

"We will introduce other initiatives such as digital and streaming platforms for our artists to make tourism and the creative arts a growth pole in Ghana. Tax incentives will also be provided for film producers and musicians. To boost tourism and job creation, my government will implement an e-visa policy for all international visitors to Ghana to enable visas to be obtained in minutes subject to security and criminal checks," the NPP flagbearer said.

Aside from the fact that the promise is not news as it was highlighted in the 2020 NPP manifesto, the question remains: "Do we really need another streaming platform in Ghana?"

There are already many streaming platforms available for music lovers and content creators. They include Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Boomplay, Audiomack, Soundcloud, and Tidal. The list is exhaustive.

All of these platforms offer a variety of services, from audio only to video, e-books, and podcasts.

What would make Bawumia's proposed streaming platform different from the existing ones? What would make it stand out, apart from being government-owned?

To be successful, the new streaming platform would have to meet two requirements: it would have to be free for consumers and profitable for creatives. But this is easier said than done.

First of all, the cost of data in Ghana is a major barrier to streaming.

The past 3 years alone have seen consistent increments in the prices of data bundles across all networks.

Take MTN for example. Data costs increased in 2022 and twice in 2023.

A GHC3 bundle now can only get you about 461 megabytes of data.

Streaming a single song of the highest quality would require about 20 megabytes of data, therefore, streaming a full 10-song album would consume about 200 megabytes of data. That's about half of the meagre 461MB.

This sentiment has been echoed by many stakeholders in the industry.

In 2023, artiste manager Bullgod blamed data costs for the low streaming rates among artistes.

Wendy Shay also expressed the same sentiment, citing it as a reason most of her streams come from other parts of Africa.

Movie producer Ola Michael asserted that the high cost of data is a reason why Ghanaian movies on streaming platforms may not work.

For the new streaming platform to be feasible, the prices of internet bundles in Ghana would have to be reduced.

Aside from data, the revenue model of the streaming platform is another challenge. Running a streaming platform is like running any other media platform.

You have a platform, where you can either create original content, partner with independent creators for exclusive content, buy the distribution rights to independently created content, or have an agreement with creators where both the platform and the creators share the costs and the profits.

A streaming platform would need enough money to cover its costs and pay the creatives using its platform.

But to make money, these platforms have two options: selling advertising spaces or getting users to pay to use the platform.

But how many Ghanaians are willing to spend that amount monthly on music alone? Add the fact they still have to buy data to stream the songs.

Spotify, YouTube, Boomplay, and Audiomack charge between 5 and 10 U.S. dollars (minus charges and taxes) for their premium versions.

Still on the requirements for it to be successful, it would have to be free for consumers (without annoying ads), while data costs would have to be cheaper.

But then it would also have to be profitable for creatives. However, since there are no ads and the platform is free, where will the money come from to pay the creators?

In conclusion, creating another streaming platform is just what it is: a promise. Making it work will only make it just another streaming platform.

And how is that any different from what we already have?

ID/BB

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