Tulenkey has raised concerns about the state of Ghana’s music royalty system
Ghanaian rapper Tulenkey has raised concerns about the state of the Ghana’s music royalty system, calling it one of the biggest issues facing the music industry.
In an interview with 3FM, the “Bad Feelings” hitmaker expressed his doubts about the level of support artistes receive in Ghana.
When asked if the Ghanaian music industry has the right structures in place to support musicians, he responded, “I don’t think so. But I think they are working on it.”
Tulenkey stressed that among all the challenges, the royalty system is the most critical. According to him, royalties are the true “bread and butter” of artistes, something that can benefit the musicians, and also generations after them.
“I think it’s the royalty section. Because that’s our bread and butter. I know people say shows and streaming, but royalty is a lifetime thing. Even your children’s children can eat off it,” he said.
He explained that while many artistes focus on collecting royalties from international platforms and organisations, there is a need to build a solid royalty system within Ghana.
“Royalty is a big thing, and everybody’s focused on the ones abroad. But the thing is, you need to start from your country before you even blow outside. And it’s quite difficult,” Tulenkey explained.
He further argued that if proper systems were in place, artistes wouldn’t have to rely only on shows or streaming income to survive. Royalties alone, he said, could take care of them.
“Because if structures were put in place properly for royalty collection, I think if you have a song, a good song that’s making waves, making numbers, you’re not even playing shows, so you’re not getting streams or anything, you can eat off that,” he added.
Tulenkey revealed that he currently receives royalty payments from international platforms every three months, but has not signed up with any royalty collection organisation in Ghana because of the discouraging stories he has heard from veteran musicians.
“I think it’s every three months. Yeah, it’s every three months. Not in Ghana. I’ve not, I’ll register, I’ve not done it yet. Because I heard, was it Obrafour, said that 20 years in the industry, and he had only, is it 12 cedis? I don’t know the figures. It was discouraging,” he said.
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