The Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Rex Omar, has encouraged Afua Asantewaa O. Aduonum, the Ghanaian woman set to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon, to compile a list of the songs she plans to perform during the event.
He emphasized the importance of sending this list to the royalties collection agency.
Rex Omar maintained that failure to fulfill this requirement could lead to GHAMRO restricting Asantewaa from singing songs protected by copyright owners.
Speaking on GTV, Rex mentioned that the advice aligns to ensure that artists and copyright holders are duly recognized and compensated for the use of their intellectual property.
“She has to list all the songs and their respective artistes. She may not necessarily know the right owners but when you put the artiste there, GHAMRO will know who the right owners are. She should send a copy to GHAMRO. If she doesn’t do that, GHAMRO can come and stop her,” said Rex Omar in an interview with Kafui Dey monitored by GhanaWeb.
He continued: “You cannot go and use somebody’s property… By law, she has to list the songs. She must do the right thing. List all the songs you want to sing, and give a copy to GHAMRO so that after you have finished, GHAMRO will follow the money. That is how it is done all over the world.”
Afua Asantewaa O. Aduonum, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Askof Productions Limited, is set to host a four-day Guinness World Record (GWR) attempt at the Akwaaba Village. Her primary objective is not only to achieve a personal milestone but also to champion and promote Ghanaian music through this musical marathon.
Aiming to surpass the existing record set in 2012 by Indian participant Sunil Waghmare, which stands at 105 hours, Afua Asantewaa O. Aduonum plans to host a challenging event lasting 117 hours. Throughout this extensive period, she intends to exclusively perform Ghanaian songs, spanning various genres including gospel, highlife, and hiplife.
Inspired by Hilda Baci's successful cook-a-thon, where she broke a four-year-old cooking record set by Lata Tondon, Afua Asantewaa O. Aduonum is driven to make a lasting impact in the realm of music while also contributing to the recognition of Ghanaian talent on the global stage.
BB