Yaw Oxbon
A member of the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry (GAPI), Yaw Oxbon, has called on government to direct its attention towards the music and creative industry, where thousands of sustainable job opportunities can be created.
According to him, the music industry alone had about 20,000 job opportunities which people, especially the youth, were taking advantage of to better their lives and that of their dependants.
Against this background, Yaw Oxbon has reiterated GAPI’s call on government for an investment of GH¢10million in the music and creative industry to engage some thousands of additional hands needed in the industry. He said apart from the jobs that would be created, government’s revenue would increase and other sectors would have their share of the benefits.
Yaw Oxbon gave the reminder in an interview with BEATWAVES in Bolgatanga after a workshop for musicians from all over the Upper East Region.
“The money, if allocated to the industry, would be a fund that will be grown and added to other revenues that will be collected by the Ghana Musicians Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) to serve as the seed capital for a proposed copy right bank. GAPI is in talks with a Norwegian partner organization to run a sustainable source of funding projects in the music and creative industry, but will only invest in this venture if we in Ghana make a commitment investment.
“This is why we have been calling on the government to invest at least GH¢10 million to give a strong backing to the music and creative industry,” he noted.
According to Yaw Oxbon, the music and creative industry had not grown as expected and many good and talented practitioners had given up due to lack of access to long-term investment to support their business.
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga