Bessa Simons is the President of MUSIGA
For years, many aged Ghanaian musicians have struggled to find financial stability beyond the spotlight.
Some have soared to fame, only to end up with nothing to fall back on. It is this reality that the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has established that it is working to change some structures.
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Speaking on Hitz FM on August 28, 2025, the President of MUSIGA, Bessa Simons, has explained that the union is committed to protecting musicians and also equipping them with what they need to thrive in the fast-changing music business.
According to him, one of the key means they intend to support musicians is through education. He disclosed that MUSIGA currently organizes seminars and workshops across the country, covering the southern, middle, and northern sectors, to train musicians on modern trends in the industry.
MUSIGA has been given a bad reputation – Bessa Simons
With physical sales of CDs and tapes long gone, Bessa Simons said it has become important for musicians to understand how to distribute and monetize their music digitally.
“So, as MUSIGA, we organise seminars, workshops, not only in Accra, like I said, across, so sometimes we divide it like the southern sector, the middle sector, and the northern sector. For example, we’ve done two workshops over the years, teaching the musicians about the new trends… So, this is very important to know that when you finish your recordings from the studio, you have to upload it to the digital stores, and then they do the proper monetization for the money, if you get any money comes into your accounts,” Bessa Simons stated.
He also pointed out that many musicians mostly fall victim to unfair contracts because they do not understand the legal terms involved.
He said to address this, MUSIGA offers guidance and legal support to its members.
“We also, we have contracts that we get, we have musicians, if you enter into any contracts, MUSIGA will help you to, you know, make sure you’re on the safe side… We have a template, a very safe template that you can use, so that they don’t take you, you know, and before you know, you’ve landed yourself in something you don’t understand. We have our lawyers also, who will guide you. Give you legal advice before you enter into contracts,” he mentioned.
According to him, MUSIGA is also thinking about the future wellbeing of musicians.
Simons disclosed that the union has already introduced a group life insurance policy for its members, subsidizes the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card, and is now working to establish a pension plan.
“We have a group life insurance, we subsidise NHIS card, and then now we are working on pensions, because this is a grey area, and it is very dear to my heart, because growing up, playing with CK Man, and then they never had this opportunity. So MUSIGA is pushing all these angles,” he added.
MUSIGA President Bessa Simons explains how the union works and what it does for Ghanaian musicians#DaybreakHitz #ShowbizReview pic.twitter.com/Uv9W0GQAgC
— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) August 28, 2025
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