By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Music since time immemorial is acknowledged as an important facet of life without which human life will be miserable.
Philosophers and great writers like Shakespeare all dwelt on the joy and melody of music, then popularly touted as facilitator of love and romance and relationships.
Musicians in the olden days were regarded as entertainers. However in the second half of the last century musicians have gained a different level or status in society.
Music is regarded as a resource of economic growth which has propelled the economies of advanced countries into greater heights.
Despite its reputation for vibrant music scene and talented musicians, Africa has so far been unable to capitalize domestically on these natural resources. Economic experts say there is the need to develop the potential for economic growth in the African music industry and new methods to build on the industry’s resources.
It is believed that Music can be used to reduce poverty and improve economic situation in Africa where poverty where more than half of its 600 million people live on less than a dollar a day.
Areas that could be developed include sound technicians, back up musicians and also state of the art technology which could enable African musicians to be compensated
automatically and transparently for the use of their music on the internet.
For instance new technology from IBM has the potential to prevent access without payment and to deliver instant payments to musicians for the online sale and performance of their music.
At a workshop organized by the World Bank and the Policies Sciences Centre in 2001 in the US, Participants explored several alternative legal approaches to developing an intellectual property rights system appropriate to African needs and resources.
It also included the controversial issue of copyright in cyberspace and examined the model of the Nashville experience where a one time dirty poor town became a music industry powerhouse and notable contributor to regional economy.
An Economist Michael Finger says there seems to be little connection between developing the music industry in Africa and empowering developing countries at the World Trade Organisation.
Finger says several of the arguments o music and development that came out of the Uruguay round are based on the experiences of the advanced countries and often have little meaning in developing economies.
One example is the agreement on the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Finger says there is the need for a good intellectual property system tailored to the needs of the music industry in Africa.
In recent years, the World Bank has been developing its cultural industries loan program introduced since James D. Wolfensohn became its president. According to the World Bank’s Daily Online Newspaper Today, the Bank as at the year 2000, was lending between 265 million to 300 million dollars for cultural activities. This comprised of loans to help culture related tourism such as ecological and craft initiatives.
This focus on music by the World Bank is seen by critics as an attempt by the Bank to clean its image and tone down opposition form anti-globalisation protestors.
Wolfensohn is said to have used music and the arts industry to transform himself from a “hardnosed investment banker to the Rock star in the aid community,” The Music Agenda by the world banks is also considered as one of the Mission creeps suffered by the Bank that is loss of focus.
In Ghana, there is no doubt about the importance of the music industry to the development of the nation.
“Music in Ghana has always had various beneficial effects such as physical and spiritual healing, for the knowledge and histories embedded in musical griots, for the calendrical markings of events by musical performance and as work songs that could help coordinate muscle power in agricultural and fishing,” says Professor John Collins, a lecturer at the Music Department, University of Ghana.
Ghana’s Music Industry which started off well in the colonial days came to a standstill two decades ago. This was attributed to political problems such as a long period of curfew during the 1980s which killed nightlife and live band performances as well as economic problems faced by musicians.
However Prof. Collins say with the situation has improved with the influx of tourists into the country.
For instance between 1992 and 2002, the number of tourists visiting Ghana doubled and only in 2004 650,000 tourists visited the country bringing with them 800 million dollars.
By 2007, a million visitors are expected each year with 1.5 billion dollars.
“Ten percent of the foreign exchange spent here by tourists is connected with the entertainment sector which of course includes music,” Prof. Collins explains.
Again he says a growing component of the tourism industry is linked to what might be called World Music Tourists who are particularly attracted to Ghana’s wealth of local music including traditional and folkloric music. “Some tourists money finds its way into even the poorest layers of society in rural areas,” citing the Kakum village Bamboo band as an example.
Royalties for African sales music abroad was 220 million dollars in 1997.
Recent studies in UK shoes that Music improves mathematical ability, physical coordination and communication skills.
Music has the potential of developing Ghana’s economy. This is because there are many types of business that involve music. Local craftsmen make traditional instruments, Ghana’s estimated 100 or so recording studios employ technicians and session musicians, night clubs and hotels employ bands, workshops are needed to repair musical equipments and music cassettes and Compact Discs need to be manufactured, produced and distributed.
Prof. Collins also say There is also music journalism, the music component of radio and TV stations, background Music for films and the local video industry as well as music jingles for the advertising industry.
Music is also used therapeutically in both modern hospitals and in the traditional settings of drum dances associated with healing cults.
In addition to these, quite a number of Ghanaian bands travel outside the country each year with some catering for the fans of folkloric music, others satisfy the musical needs of the millions of Ghanaians in the Diaspora. These include musicians like Amakye Dede, Pat Thomas, Daddy Lumba . Some hitherto poor people have joined the high class soon after successful albums.
The music being performed by a top Ghanaian Musician popularly known as Obuor on the airwaves warning drivers about accidents is one of the ways in which music has contributed to the socio-economic development of the country. There have been several other campaign songs on health issues such as on infant vaccination, family planning, prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria which are all song in local languages to educate nursing mothers and all on the dangers of diseases and what o do about them.
Prof. John Collins recalls song lyrics that provide a voice to the voiceless and marginalized social groups that are critical of corruption, the older generation, government mismanagement and unequal distribution o power and wealth.
“An old well-known example is the 1967 African Brothers hi life records of ‘Ebe te yie’ (Some sit well) which criticized the emergence of a nouveau riche in Ghana after independence.
. The President of the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGHA) Alhaji Sidiku Buari have always called for the adequate support for the music industry.
According to him, in spite of the improvement in the quality of music, exploitation continues unabated especially in piracy.
Ghana has made efforts to develop its music industry with meetings with development partners such as the World Bank, UNESCO European Union, French Embassy, Goethe Institut, and many more without much success.
Experts have blamed divisions among musicians and lack of government support as some of the draw backs and a World Bank project to support them in Ghana is still in the womb of time due to a number o factors.
According to the Institute for Music and Development 50 percent of sales in African music are pirated. The institute says several African countries including Ghana have no adequate statistics on total value of revenue accruing from music publishing industries.
Today the Growth and Poverty Reduction strategy (GPRS II) regards music as one of the means to reduce poverty.
A German proverb sums up the importance of music to the world today. “Where you hear people singing, there settle down in peace, for evil people know no songs.”
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