GHAMRO to engage Telcos and other agents on digital downloads

The Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), has said that very soon the organization will engage the Telco’s on all the downloading digital platform presently in operation nationwide.
Kojo Antwi was speaking at the second GHAMRO “Meet the Member” meeting held at Apatakesea Ase made up of right owners in Kumasi on Tuesday February 23, 2016, one-day seminar for music right owners and users put together for members in and around the Ashanti Region attended by over 300 right owners.
In his reaction to concerns expressed by some of the members as to what the Ghana Music Rights Owners(GHAMRO) was doing to doing to arrest the present numerous issues regarding downloads by digital platforms, Kojo Antwi intimated that GHAMRO have already started the engagement process to sanitize the situation and therefore members should expect a better deal very soon.
He said in order to exercise control of the system as is the norm in the industry, GHAMRO will implement its own digital business platform to take over the pirated downloads that is presently taking place at certain open areas like Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kaneshie, Madina, Kasoa, Asafo, Adum and many other places.
The new system to be adopted by GHAMRO will help the organization provide a monitoring approach for the revenue generated and account same to its members.
On the Telco’s, he said the situation where the agents are licensed by Telco’s without recourse to the Ghana Music Rights Organization does not augur well to the management of rights as music users are required under the law to be licensed as provided by the Section 36 of the Copyright Legislative, 2010.
He continued that GHAMRO in doing this in spite of the backing of the law intends to engage all players in the industry to ensure that the appropriated measures are put in place in conformity with both the law and to also ensure that business thrive in a more a partnership of respect between musician and the business community. “Our thrust is to engage our partners.”
Kojo Antwi stressed that once the Telco’s and their respective agents needs music as content to enable their platform work satisfactorily, it is also important to ensure that they work with the Ghana Music Rights Organization which is the mandated Society protecting the music right owners’ rights so that both parties will appreciate the partnership and be happy with their share of payments received for their work which is the content for the Telco’s and their agents.
In conclusion he said” if GHAMRO have control over the music downloading platform, all players will work in accordance with the law for the benefit of the music business.
Chief Executive Officer of GHAMRO, Abraham Adjetey, during his speech on the proposed digital platform, said, 27 music downloading platforms have been identified so far and in the immediate term, GHAMRO have started discussion on licensing these platforms till the final modalities for the GHAMRO own music downloading business platform is ready.
Mr. Jonathan Cudjoe, General Manager and also Director in-charge of Licensing and Legal Affairs at GHAMRO, disclosed that a proposed constitutional amendment that will align GHAMRO with other international Collective Management Organizations (C.M.O) worldwide.
Cudjoe said the proposed constitutional amendment will be put before the right owners for adoption during the Annual General Meeting in April this year.
The next seminar will be held in the Greater Accra Region and right owners in the Volta and Eastern Regions will be conveyed to Accra to participate.