Entertainment industry should be driven by investors, not government

The creative industry in Ghana, according to talent manager Nana Poku Ashis, has lost its direction.

He has argued that the industry should ideally be driven by investors and businessmen rather than creatives leaning on government support.

Speaking on GhanaWeb’s weekly X Space on September 26, 2025, Ashis explained that the absence of proper structures has left creatives with little to rely on.

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According to him, systems such as royalties do not function effectively, forcing artistes, actors, and others in the creative sector to turn to the state for help.

The talent manager noted that in other parts of the world, entertainment thrives largely on the involvement of private investors and entrepreneurs, not governments.

He added that if Ghana’s creative space had been thriving, many businessmen would have established record labels, theatres, and other ventures to drive the industry forward.

Some Ghanaian artistes don’t even acknowledge support from DJs, radio stations – Ashis

To illustrate, he mentioned that if a private investor approaches ten people in the industry and asked how they would make a return on their investment, the majority would be unable to provide a convincing plan.

“Royalties don’t work here. A lot of things don’t work, so the artiste, or the actor, or whoever it is, is forced to scramble on the little they make on social media and the internet. Survival of the fittest, that’s what it is here. So then we have to turn to depend on the government, which shouldn’t have been the case ideally if you’re running entertainment. Entertainment worldwide is not an industry for the government. Individuals, businessmen, and top executives are the ones who push entertainment.

“You don’t have governments running entertainment in the western world. But in our situation, we are so low on the pay card that we have to find a way of depending on the government for social support, which rarely comes anyway. If there were a thriving entertainment industry here, I’m sure more people would have owned theatres, more people would have owned record labels. But because the structures are not in place, lots of businessmen have lost interest in whatever we do in our space,” Ashis said.

He added, “If I’m a businessman and I want to invest my money into, say, a craft, and I call ten people to come and give me a business plan of how I will make my money back, eight out of the ten will not be able to tell me.”

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AK/EB