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Join forces to grow Ghanaian music industry …France Ambassador to musicians

Ghana’s music industry can grow bigger and get better if artistes join forces, support each other, produce and push each other, Anne Sophie AvÉ, the France Ambassador to Ghana, has advised.

This was how French artistes helped each other and supported the cause of developing the music industry in France, Ms AvÉ told the Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

She commended Ghanaian artistes for being ambassadors in their own right and putting Ghana on the world map through their creativity and dynamism.

But she said that beyond creativity and dynamism, the Ghanaian artistes needed to avoid unhealthy competition among themselves in order to succeed.

Ms AvÉ, an avid listener of Ghanaian music, said Ghanaian artistes could also work together like their counterparts in France are doing through their union to obtain a certain percentage when their music was played on radio stations.

On copyrights, she said French artistes had managed to secure the authors’ rights, artists’ rights, and the production rights to ensure that their rights were protected so they get royalties when their music was reproduced in any way, shape or form.

She said that when she was growing up in the 70s, people who bought music on the “record” used to think that they could copy and display it.

To address the development, Ms AvÈ stated that the artistes found “ways and means to put together regulations to protect copyright” and that was how the French music industry survived.

Ms AvÈ said the French Embassy in Ghana was ready to explain to Ghanaian artistes how the rules of copyright works in France and other European countries.

Touching on her passion for Ghanaian music,  the Ambassador of France to Ghana said she loved all Ghanaian artistes and that the more she got to know their music and what they did, they more she loved their music.

Ms AvÈ said language was not a barrier when it comes to music because a number of Ghanaian tracks by Stonebwoy and Sarkodie were a huge success in France.

She said that she was surprised to hear some young people in France sing along one of Stonebwoy’s tracks sung in Ewe, although they did not understand the language.

In her view, music was about emotions and what the music conveys.

When asked whether the embassy had a project with some Ghanaian artistes, she responded in the affirmative, and added that some French artistes wanted to come to Ghana for a collaboration with Ghanaian artistes.

BY MALIK SULLEMANA

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