There is the love for music and there’s the thirst for business…
Music is a creative expression, and our setting has an undeniable abundance of talent. Still, music is also a business many undermine at their own cost. The balance between both defines an artist’s career. Yet, many creatives overlook the legal side until it’s too late. Deals go unsigned, rights go unclaimed, and talents lose control of their work.
In Ghana, conversations about the business of music often come up when things go wrong. From disputes over royalties to unfavourable deals, the absence of proper legal guidance continues to hurt many artists. And yet, legal literacy remains low across the board. There’s still limited engagement of trained professionals, especially entertainment lawyers who protect creatives and guide business decisions.
Antoinette Boama, popularly known as Afia Blue, understands this gap well. She bridges the gap between structure and talent as a creative rights champion and entertainment lawyer. Her efforts encourage the industry to adopt better procedures, make wiser choices, and hold professionals accountable.
In this interview, Afia Blue breaks down why artists must prioritize legal representation, what’s missing in our current setup, and how to protect creative careers in the fast-changing world of music.
Ghana Music: Congratulations on your strides over the years. You’ve been a key player in Ghana’s music business in recent years. What drew you to this field and kept you passionate about it?
Afia Blue: I’ve always been a lover of music. Growing up I knew I was going to be a music executive, I just didn’t know which one it was. The love of music and the eagerness to see our industry grow is what keeps me passionate about it.
Ghana Music: You’re not only educated on law but knowledgeable in music and its business through your experiences with programs like Music Business for Africa, the Recording Academy and American Music Mentorship Program. How have these shaped your approach to legal matters in the industry?
Afia Blue: I am still a mentee of the American Music Mentorship Program, by the way. My mentor is a renowned Entertainment Lawyer and a Music Law lecturer at the Layola State University. MBA for Africa taught me a lot about the music ecosystem as a whole and how to deal with contracts involving different players of the industry. MBA also made me very well aware of how the various music executives interact to create music and generate revenue from it.
These programs have provided me with hands on experience that cannot be taught in the law classroom. They have helped me become a better entertainment lawyer because not only do I know about the laws governing the industry, I also know about the business of music.
Ghana Music: There’s always talk about Ghana’s music industry not being structured enough. From a legal perspective, what’s the most significant issue holding us back?
Afia Blue: The most significant issue holding us back is that teams refuse to engage the services of professionals in the industry. That aside, some executives also refuse to learn/ acquire more knowledge on the services they refuse to pay for. This is our biggest challenge. The money isn’t moving around in the general ecosystem of the industry and because of this, very experienced professionals are quitting. The industry will not grow if we do not incentivize the experts needed to help it grow.
Ghana Music: What policies or industry changes would you love to see in Ghana to protect artists and creative professionals?
Afia Blue: To piggyback off my last answer, I need the industry to engage more professionals who know their onions. This isn’t specific to entertainment lawyers. Our issue is that once the industry player isn’t an artiste, we don’t pay for their services because they don’t seem to be relevant. A growing industry is one in which all players benefit from the cake. As artistes buy cars, the PR person in the team should also buy one. That shows money is moving in the industry and professionals are also being engaged. We need more people with experience who are knowledgeable in the business of music on radios and tv stations, discussing the industry and how to grow it.
Ghana Music: Over time, you’ve brokered deals for artists, labels and distros. What do you think is missing in our industry regarding fair negotiations?
Afia Blue: Firstly leverage. We need the numbers. I can say that some of our big artists are getting the same deals as smaller artists in other jurisdictions are getting. The leverage you need as an artiste is numbers which we usually refer to as clout. To get these numbers you need to be very intentional about your craft. We are in 2025, don’t drop a project and leave it to chance; pay promoters and other professionals to get the needed clout. Most importantly hire a lawyer who knows the basics of music and copyright law, don’t jump at bad deals because the money looks good.
Ghana Music: Many artists get excited about signing deals but later regret them, and we’ve seen this so many times. Why do you think this happens so often?
Afia Blue: Refusal to engage lawyers, hunger and naivety.
Ghana Music: Do you think we have enough trained professionals—lawyers, managers, A&Rs—who truly understand the business of music? If not, how do we fix that?
Afia Blue: I believe we do but they’re mostly leaving the industry because the job is not as lucrative as it should be. The money should trickle down. If FDI comes in, we need the labels to pay everyone properly. Let the money move around. Train your label executives. There are so many online courses, books and resources. We also need labels and other industry players to organizers these masterclasses for the current and upcoming executives.
Ghana Music: There is a trend of more artists using the DIY approach and going independent. What legal steps should they take to ensure their careers are secure?
Afia Blue: Ideally, the best legal advice is for them to have lawyers in their teams. In the situation where they can’t afford lawyers, they should make sure every service they provide is reduced into a contract. They should surround themselves with a team of people who actually know what they’re doing and have a fair idea of the business of music.
Ghana Music: You’ve been vocal about the importance of artists having a legal representative before engaging in business deals. At what stage should they bring in an entertainment lawyer?
Afia Blue: After getting a manager, your next team member should be an entertainment lawyer. You need a lawyer when the deal is presented to you. Your lawyer is supposed to take lead in the negotiation stage; explaining the terms of the deal and your obligations to you.
Ghana Music: With the rise of streaming platforms, how have contract structures evolved, and what should artists watch out for in digital distribution deals?
Afia Blue: We have moved from the physical to digital distribution of music and this has necessitated structural changes in contracts to tackle this changing trend. These we have distribution companies who “take the music to the market” for the artistes. They then collect the revenue generated from these outlets (DSPs) and deliver it to the artistes after taking their share.
Actually, these contracts are similar to those from the pre-digital streaming era, they are simply more sophisticated now. As an artiste, you should look at the term and termination clauses of these contracts. You should also pay particular attention to the nature of the license you are giving out, the recoupment clause if there is an advance involved and the revenue sharing percentages. This is what you need a lawyer to do for you as you focus on creating the music.
Ghana Music: What rights do artists have regarding royalties, publishing, and licensing? Do you think Ghana has strong enough legal structures to protect these rights?
Afia Blue: I’m currently writing an article which answers this question and I will definitely update you when it goes up. I say this to let you know that a question about rights in music cannot be answered in 3 or 4 sentences but let me answer it briefly. The royalties in music are grouped under two broad umbrellas, sound recording royalties and publishing royalties. Sound recording royalties are those ones received from the exploitation of the sound recording, what people call masters. Publishing royalties are those received from the exploitation of the underling composition in the music. Customarily, the label is the owner of the master rights and receives the sound recording royalties whilst the composers and songwriters are the owners of the publishing rights. The owners of these rights can license them to an entity to help with the exploitation and collection of the revenue generated. Licensees ordinarily do not own any rights.
Now with the distribution of the sound recording and generation of sound recording royalties, Ghana is making giant strides because we have local distros like rain.labs, Crux Global, Tieme, MiPROMO, myEastern Child among others.
However, we have a problem when it comes to the publishing side. Hopefully we will get there soon because I personally know a number of people working on setting up these companies to help our composers and songwriters. We have one of the best copyright legal frameworks in Africa as we have adapted all the international IP Conventions. Our problem, which I think is the usual Ghanaian problem, is with enforcement but as stated earlier, there are people working on that so we must remain hopeful.
Ghana Music: Before we wrap up, one thing that interests me about your strides is your role with “The Girls Brunch,” which empowers women in entertainment. What inspired this initiative, and what impact have you seen so far?
Afia Blue: The girls’ brunch was borne out of a dream by friends who wanted to create a safe space for women to unwind, network and have fun. We platform only women creatives and service providers. We have had editions where we partnered with sexual and reproductive health advocates to educate the girls. Currently, we are embarking on a project with “the Uterus Ninja” where we donate sanitary pads to underprivileged girls in remote areas of Ghana. Our last donation was in the Oti Region this January.
