Ghana’s Music Industry has come a long way. Legends like Daddy Lumba, Amakye Dede, Kojo Antwi, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Tagoe Sisters, KK Fosu, Tic Tac, Ofori Amponsah, King Ayisoba, Reggie Rockstone, Sherifa Gunu, among others, have done a great good to the success of the music industry now.
Globally, we have seen a sequence of change with regards to music distribution and promotion. It came from cassettes to DVD, and it is now digital platforms where you can listen to the music. During the cassette era, musicians say they made a lot of money. Today’s music digital culture has also proven to be a good strategy. Every era and it’s system that translates into money for creatives.
These music legends Daddy Lumba, Amakye Dede, Kojo Antwi, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Tagoe Sisters, KK Fosu, Tic Tac, Ofori Amponsah, King Ayisoba, Reggie Rockstone, Sherifa Gunu, among others have contributed greatly to the growth of the music industry. Do you think it is fair to compare any new artist to these legends?
Every musician and their time, and this time comes with a different kind of following and award or chart system. Twenty years ago, the only musical chart we knew was those done internally by radio stations and newspapers. Today, musicians are lucky to get listeners around the world to to the universal nature of digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Shazam, Audiomack, Boomplay, etc.
As a result, to campare the achievements of a new artist who is lucky with an improved system to an old artist who had little advantages is entirely not fair. No matter what, under no circumstances should you compare a new artist to an old legend who has paid his dues with the little advantages he or she had back then.
Comparison simply disrespects the achievements of legends like Daddy Lumba, Amakye Dede, Kojo Antwi, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Tagoe Sisters, KK Fosu, Tic Tac, Ofori Amponsah, King Ayisoba, Reggie Rockstone, Sherifa Gunu, Sarkodie, Samini, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, etc if you compare their works and brand to a new artist who is not even two years in the music game.
Followers of new artists should learn to celebrate the success of their favorite musician without disrespecting legends in the music industry. These comparisons create enmity between the new and old musicians. That is unhealthy for the Ghana music industry. Some people in the Ghanaian music industry who claim to be gatekeepers surprisingly keep quiet over these issues because probably, they are publicists or managers of these new artists.
It is also alleged that fans of some of these legends sometimes deliberately set this false agenda, pretend to be fans of these new ones, and starts comparing them to the legends. They allegedly do these things to generate hate for the new artist who will then start loosing the few followers that they have gained.
You keep comparing your artist to Nigerian musicians who seem to undoubtedly be ahead of us musically. How often do you see Nigerians comparing their legends like Femi Kati, P Square, D’banj, Banky W, among others with the younger musicians?. It does not happen. In fact, they literally worship these legends. The respect shown by young musicians to Nigerian music legends is something worth emulate.
Nigerians naturally respect their elders. It was same with Ghanaian youth twenty years ago but something has changed. On social media, it is hard to notice more respectful young men and women. Most of them simply do not respect.
Let us learn from the Nigerians and build this industry together to generate great results. Stop comparing young musicians to legends.