I have heard a lot of people discuss the role of MUSIGA, its President and what they are actually doing to make the music industry attractive to investors; as well as make it a better business platform for our musicians.
To start with, from my subjective view, musicians should not be the only people qualified to occupy the Presidency of MUSIGA, but people who are also into the music business including individuals who are very abreast with knowledge of how the industry should thrive; they are the ones I think are best fit to be given the opportunity to contest for that position.
My simple reason is because the office is not a place where music is written, it is not a place where music is recorded neither do they play shows there and it has not been a place where the content or lyrics of musicians are deeply examined before its’ release. For these reasons given, it is not only professionals of music who are required there. In addition, the progress of the industry is not only dependent on them although they play 80 to 85% role in the industry. Due to these, we can conspicuously say it’s an office for business oriented folks and indeed serious business. It is an office that requires qualified business managers and administrators, marketing personnel and innovative people who can brainstorm on how better structures can be entrenched to aid the work of our musicians to be promoted within and without the country and again develop means by which musicians can make money from their works.
If you may permit me to use this short analogy to explain and make comparison to the above, I will like to ask; how many well-worlds known football coaches have been football players before? Yet they manage teams and coach players to win trophies. To add to this, was Sepp Blatter or Gianni Infantino who was and is the FIFA President respectively professional footballers? My research reveals to me they have not been professional footballers before. But they know the football business hence; they are trusted with these positions. That is one of the reasons why people in the music business and not just in the music industry should be allowed to occupy the MUSIGA presidential position and to some extent GHAMRO offices as wellso that musicians can focus on their profession as musicians and leave the well being and management of the industry and business to those who are highly qualified to do that.