Ghana lacks music publishers – Rex Omar

Rex Owusu Marfo, former Board Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), has howled about the nonexistence of music publishers in the country.

Speaking on Joy TV’s Roundtable Entertainment discussion on Saturday, October 29, at the Labadi Beach Hotel.

According to him, this is not giving Ghana music the much projection it deserves beyond its shores. “We do not have music publishers in Ghana,”

Mr. Rex Owusu Marfo was a keynote speaker, and talked on the topic, “Importance of royalties to the life of the musician”

According to the highlife artiste, music publishing is a form of royalty, adding that music publishing is vital in the life of musicians, particularly songwriters. This, he explained is because it has to do with the exploitation of the song.

“The publishers are the people who will look for films so that your music can be used as synchronization or soundtracks. As long as your publisher is powerful all you need is one song well published

“If you are a good songwriter and have a good publisher you don’t necessarily have to sing. You can be sitting in Ghana, writing songs and you will have some top American artiste singing your songs and you are here quietly making your money,” he said.

The thought-leadership forum, themed ‘Music Business and Tourism’, aims at delving deep into, and moving conversations from simply identifying some of the industry’s woes, to sharing ideas and insights that are critical to the growth and progress of the creative industry.

Concurrently, Rex Omar has advised prospective musicians to assess the commercial viability of the music industry before venturing into it.