Radio Personality of the year contest
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May 2000
A forum on Copyright Collective
Administration of Music Rights has been held to educate Ghanaian musicians on
the need to be united in their fight for payment of royalties due them by music
users.
The forum, which was organised
under the auspices of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) in collaboration
with the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) brought in resource persons from
South Africa and Senegal.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Chairman of
the NCC, noted that the music industry in Ghana has suffered numerous setbacks
due to lack of unity and co-operation among musicians.
"There are often
misunderstandings between composers, publishers and authors as to who is
entitled to royalty payable for a particular composition." This, he noted, creates room for
exploitation by commercial music users without payment of any royalties.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong urged all
musicians to acknowledge the roles of various stakeholders in the production
business and to enter into proper agreements to forestall problems associated
with rights of ownership.
Mr David Owenedimo, Head of the
African Caribbean Desk of the International Confederation of Societies of
Authors and Composers (CISAC), said the formation of "Collecting
Societies" will create both local and international networks for the
efficient collection of royalties.
He said a system is being put in
place to register every data on the usage of songs for commercial purposes to
avoid evasion of the payment of royalties.
He appealed to musicians to have
proper documentation of their work to ensure the easy collection and
distribution of money and urged them to be transparent in their dealings.
Mr Robert Hooijer, General
Manager, South African Musicians Rights Association, cautioned musicians
against the signing of permanent agreements that jeopardise their future.
He also appealed to African
governments to strengthen the copyright law to control the increasing rate of
piracy on the continent.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May 2000
A non-governmental organisation is introducing a National Radio Personality Award scheme to honour radio presenters.
The Summit Concept Limited (SCL), in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), is using the award as a way of recognising the contributions of presenters and to bring healthy competition on the airwaves.
Mr Abeiku Sagoe, Chief Executive Officer of SCL, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra said there would be two zones - the North and South.
The general public would be required to select the best 10 from each zone for the grand final in Accra. The contribution of radio presenters needs to be recognized, he said.
He said many of these presenters are not journalists in the conventional sense and therefore do not qualify to compete in the Ghana Journalists Association's Awards Scheme.
He said criteria for selection would include appearance, diction, clarity of thought, logical presentation, knowledge of subject, cultural relevance of subject and entertainment flavour.
The basic elements of communication, that is information, education and entertainment, will have to be in the presentation.
The overall winner will be attached to the WBLS FM station in the New York for a month. They will be consolation prizes.
Mr Sagoe said the competition is under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Communications and the National Media Commission, with the support from the Ministry of Tourism and the National Commission on Culture.
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