Artiste manager Nana Poku Ashis has disclosed that several Ghanaian artistes are gradually losing interest in participating in award schemes such as the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA).
Speaking on Daybreak Hitz with Doreen Avio and Kwame Dadzie, on October 29, 2025, Ashis stated that many musicians no longer find such competitions appealing, citing various reasons.
According to him, his artiste, Kwabena Kwabena, is one of those who have chosen to stay away from the scheme because he does not see the need for competition at his level.
“Some artistes are shying away from the scheme now. My own Kwabena Kwabena is a reference. He said he doesn’t see the competitive side of it. Where he is now, he wants the younger ones to also take the shine,” he said.
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Ashis further stated that Kwabena Kwabena prefers to allow younger artistes to enjoy the spotlight while he supports from behind the scenes.
“To him, to his status, if you put these young ones coming up, and they win, that’s fine. He wouldn’t want to be in that bracket of a competition, so lately, I sneak some of his songs into it. He would want to just be there and watch the younger ones to also take the shine,” he noted.
He also said that several artistes share similar sentiments and have lost interest in award schemes due to concerns about fairness and transparency.
“I’ve had conversations with a lot of them, and it’s the same thing. Most of our artistes now are not in tune with it. Some say there’s vote buying, some also have doubts about winning, and they feel they would be cheated or the award would be given to someone else,” he shared.
Ashis added that these perceptions have contributed to the low participation of some top artistes in recent years.
“There are various opinions when it comes to the schemes. Why people want to stay away and it’s true because most of the time, the people we go celebrate are not in the house,” he added.
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