Entertainment of Tuesday, 19 December 2023

Source: classfmonline.com

Ghana music industry value 'minus zero', quack pundits are major reason – JMJ

JMJ JMJ

Star music executive and producer JMJ has intensely bemoaned the trend of ill-informed individuals being hosted on TV and on radio as entertainment pundits.

Intimating this is sorely unprofessional, he added it has consequently eaten away the value of show-business in Ghana.

The producer for serial hitmakers like Kaakie and Samini, JMJ said "sometimes, I feel shy telling my close mates that I'm actually part of this industry".

He spoke on the national broadcaster's GTV on 'Record Label Contracts: What A Musician Must Know'.

JMJ noted that "when there is a health issue, they bring health professionals

"When there is an agric conversation, they bring farmers [and] people who are well-versed in the matter.

Surprisingly, however, he noted, it is not same in showbiz when personnel are outlined for industry conversations.

"...sometimes when you hear some people talking on TV, and they talking on behalf of all of us, it is saddening.

"You ask: 'What is the reason you are qualified to be on this set?'," he quizzed.

JMJ recalled "back then" at media establishments such as "GBC here," programme producers knew "it was a risk to put a layman on" to mislead the public.

He asked his audience to imagine, "they brought a fake doctor here and he starts giving wrong prescription and then the innocent person at home just swallows it".

"Entities like GBC know the danger so they'll make sure they go for people who are well-versed in the conversation," the JR Music founder stressed.

Conversely, in the entertainment industry, "we are the only people that you'd hear [introduce someone for a conversation as]: 'He's a pundit, he's this, he's a music critic," etc. Meanwhile, he intimated, the individual has no education or relevant industry experience for the topic.

"And that's how we grew our industry. That's why its value is minus zero today," he concluded.