The Chief Executive Officer of GUBA Enterprise, Lady Dentaa Amoateng MBE, has mentioned that Ghana is not part of the countries that have signed up for the Grammy Africa model that is being initiated.
Although she explains Ghana will be allowed to take part in the awards, it cannot host activities that come with this new development. The four founding countries are Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa.
Speaking to Andy Dosty on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, Dentaa said Ghana could not be part of the founding members of Africa’s version of the Grammys because the country couldn’t finalise certain requirements with the Recording Academy.
“It is little bit unfortunate but the agreement that was supposed to be signed did not happen so at the moment those are the four countries that will be able to host the Grammys. It doesn’t stop any artiste from being nominated but it is just the hosting and other benefits that the country will have. At the moment Ghana is not apart of it,” she said.
When asked what could have prevented Ghana from signing the agreement in question, she said: “I think it is resources and a few things that the country will need to be part of it which I can’t say on the radio.”
That notwithstanding, Dentaa noted that the window is still open for that part of the bargain to be made. She indicated that Ghana and Ivory Coast have signed an MOU and that once they are able to fulfill the other requirements, they get to be part of the founding members and enjoy the benefits thereof.
Talking about how important the Grammy Africa will be to the creative economies in continent, the GUBA Enterprise boss noted it will open Africans to many business opportunities.
“It means a whole lot because when you look at the Grammy Awards and the 90 awards that they give, they can’t recognise all of Africa’s music; the variety of music that we do on the continent is vast. It comes with different languages and all of that, and this gives us the opportunity to celebrate Africa. When you look at the Latin Grammys that has been going on for 25 years, it is dedicated to celebrating Latin music and so to have our own, it will give us that cultural recognition, it will give us that promotion on the global stage and it will give us economic opportunities, industrial growth, it will boost tourism,” she noted.
As part of its efforts to support music creators on a global scale, the Recording Academy, the organisers of the Grammy Awards, has announced plans to create an African version of the prestigious award scheme.
This will satisfy the music needs and collaborate on a framework to bolster the Academy’s presence and services in rapidly growing music regions, just as was done for Latin Grammys in 1997.
In tandem with this, the Recording has entered into special agreements with Ministries of Cultures and key stakeholders, not only in Africa, but also across the Middle East.
“This is exciting because music is one of humanity’s greatest natural resources,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “It is critical that the people who dedicate themselves to creating music have support, resources and opportunities, no matter where they are from.”
For the past two years, the Academy’s leaders have traveled throughout these regions, participated in listening sessions, received high-level briefings, tours, demonstrations, and obtained insight directly from both the governmental ministries and music creators driving innovation in these markets.
The Academy is working with the Ministries of Culture in Kenya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Nigeria, the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), and the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture in South Africa. Additionally, MOUs have been signed with Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Through these collaborations, and in alignment with our mission, the Academy looks to explore several key initiatives, including:
(1). Championing music creators at all levels, providing them with a platform and advocacy.
(2) Empowering creators through enhanced training. Through its online learning platform, GRAMMY GOTM, the Academy will look to provide educational programs and resources specifically tailored to the needs of music creators in these regions.
