Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, the daughter of Nana Akufo-Addo, has addressed the misunderstandings surrounding the Play Ghana Initiative.
This initiative was launched by her and the Creative Arts Council (CAA) in December 2023.
However, many Ghanaians opposed Gyankroma’s suggestion that Ghanaian songs should take precedence over all other songs on radio and television.
This opposition was expressed during a stakeholder engagement organized by the council to gather input from creatives and key players in the creative industry for the promotion of the PlayGhana initiative.
For the first time, Gyankroma is now responding to this issue.
She recently spoke at a DJs and Bloggers Forum-PlayGhana Initiative, where she sought views on how to make the project successful.
During her speech, Gyankroma expressed her surprise at the reception of #PlayGhana, emphasizing that it was simply a patriotic approach.
“It’s unfortunate that we started PlayGhana with controversy and misconstrued information with the core goal of the initiative being ignored. However, I want to give an assurance that the initiative is a patriotic approach.”
“It is never to ban any other music, or to make Ghanaian musicians compete with other artistes. Far from that. What we are trying to do is just to push our artistes to the forefront, which will have a ripple effect on our industry.”
“We need more money in the industry. If people come and they don’t hear us, they won’t stay to give money. Yes, we can pass the law which is everything great on paper but how do we enforce it. How do we actually make sure that the radio stations are adhering to this law?”
“How do we make sure that the nightclub owners are playing our music, DJs are playing our music on the airwaves and this is why stakeholder engagement with DJs and bloggers are relevant,” she said.
Several suggestions were proposed by the DJs in attendance at the forum, including DJ Mensah, who is the official DJ for rapper Sarkodie.
One of the key ideas emphasized was the importance for musicians to use a language that is accessible to audiences beyond Ghana, and to have a mindset focused on promoting Ghana’s music in the global market.
In other words, the aim should be to reach consumers of the music not only locally, but also internationally.