Event planner and industry professional, Soraya Opare-Riley, has stated that Ghana’s music industry is not attractive enough to draw in investors.
According to her, the industry is still in its early stages, and anyone who chooses to invest in it feels like they’re taking a big risk.
Speaking on GhanaWeb’s X Space on July 18, 2025, Soraya shared her views on why investors shy away from putting money into the music business in Ghana.
She explained that the negativity often pushed by the media and bloggers, is so much that it scares off potential investors.
She explained that aside from the fact that the industry is still growing, the public perception and commentary around artistes and those who support them often create problems.
Soraya gave an example of how damaging rumours can be for both an investor and an artiste.
“As it stands now, the music industry is not attractive to invest in. It is not attractive to invest in because we are at the early stages and the early stages, anybody would make investing in sector risky. One of the things that would deter somebody from taking a risk is that a big man who is coming to invest would sit down and some press house or some blogger will now come and say ‘Because so and so invested in Sefa, edey chop am.’ That negativity would deter an investor,” she said.
She added that even when the investor manages to make a profit, bad publicity might still damage their reputation and affect their willingness to keep investing.
“The negative misinformation of the music industry is something that would deter anybody. Even if you do make a profit, you would make a profit but you are getting a bad press, why would you want to continue?” she asked.
Soraya also pointed to the rise of social media as a factor that fuels these challenges. According to her, once something is posted online, it spreads and shapes how people in other countries see Ghana’s music scene.
“It has exacerbated because of social media, where people sit down and just write anything…When you put something on social media, that becomes your story to anybody in India, China or anywhere around the globe. When they read about it. That is what they see, that is what they hear, so they don’t see the positive side of the Ghanaian music industry,” she explained.
— GhanaWeb (@TheGhanaWeb) July 18, 2025
Meanwhile Jane Reindorf Osei says Ghana is ready to attract investment, partnerships and tourists:
AK/VPO