Honorable Minister Designate for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, The Director of Alliance Francaise, Ministers of State and Honorable members of Parliament here present, Distinguished guests, Industry stakeholders, Partners, Prospective sponsors, fellow musicians, friends from the media.

On behalf of the National Executive Committee, The National Executive Council and the entire membership of the Musicians Union of Ghana, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation for joining us for the launch of the fifth edition of Ghana Music Week Festival.

The objectives of the Ghana Music Week Festival as indicated during the launch of the maiden edition in 2013 four years ago has not changed. It seeks to highlight what annual festivals and exhibitions of works from the various creative industry domains can contribute to the national goal by improving the lives of practitioners in the creative arts sector and their direct and indirect dependents. The Ghana Music Week Festival will continue to seek to create and share wealth for and among all industry players.

Let me reiterate some of the key objectives of the Ghana Music Week Festival:

To create the industry’s biggest platform to bring together and encourage participation of artistes, stakeholders, the media, decision/policy makers and music users. To recognize, promote & underscore the importance & value of all Ghanaian music forms. To connect to the African and global market. To effectively use local labour talent and materials to create a unique and new festival. To recognize and reward stakeholders who have contributed to the growth of the industry and in the process institute a Ghana Music Hall of Fame).

The Musicians Union of Ghana is therefore inviting corporate Ghana, institutions and organizations to support the Ghana Music Week Festival to achieve the objectives stated earlier.

Today we are launching Ghana Music Week 2017 Festival with series of activities lined up for the week in March to coincide with the diamond jubilee cerebration of our dear Nation.

We will kick start activities for this year’s festival from the 3rd March to 12th March. The main activities will include:

Ghana Music Day – a live television declaration and promotion of music of Ghanaian origin, by which we are requesting that all media organizations play Ghanaian music that whole day – on this day also MUSIGA will launch a massive campaign to increase local music content on our air waves.

We will host the Ghana Music Business Seminar, under the theme “Talk Music Business – the West African Experience” where we will have speakers from the West African sub region to share industry knowledge relevant to our times with participants

international Music Expo at the National Theatre which will attract foreign participation from the United States of America, Italy, France, etc. This year’s Expo will also honor deserving individuals who have contributed to the development of the Ghanaian music industry

3 days of exhibitions and concerts at the Black Star Square dubbed the Festival

As part of efforts to improve the professionalism and standards of music industry practitioners, the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) in collaboration with the Union are introducing a certificate programme in music production for all persons who would like to make effective inroads into the music business in Ghana. The Union will provide some scholarship support for members who apply for the course. Let me use this opportunity to invite all industry practitioners and aspiring ones to take advantage of acquiring some knowledge to help improve the way we do music business in Ghana.

As part of our Wage and Industry Standardization efforts, the Union will release a list of the top one hundred acts in the music industry. This will be accompanied by a grading system and a minimum wage structure for performances to be reviewed yearly. To ensure the sustainability of this important initiative, the union has appointed Richard Mensah (Richie) as Director of Music and Industry Standards to work with our newly established Membership and Business Development office.

To further ensure fair compensation for our members and musicians, the union is calling on Ghamro to be more proactive in ensuring that the logging system is implemented and royalties paid appropriately to right owners.

Finally I would like to commend our sponsors and supporters for their assistance without which GMW 2017 Festival would have been impossible. These are Alliance Francaise, British Council, Midland Savings and Loans, Twellium Foundation, National Theatre etc..

Thank you and God bless you.