Richmond Adu-Poku: Record labels are dead in Ghana

Ghana has become exceptionally good at producing music stars. We churn out hit songs, manufacture viral sensations and export artistes who command attention beyond our borders.

But when it comes to building the powerful businesses that turn these stars into sustainable commercial empires, our performance has been rather less impressive.

We have the talent, the sound, the audience and the occasional international breakthrough. Yet, somewhere between the recording studio and the international bank account, the money seems to lose its way home.

Perhaps it is time to bring back an old friend we have neglected for too long: the Record Label.

This is not an invitation to resurrect an era when artistes needed permission from a label executive to sneeze, let alone release a song. It is about rebuilding the business infrastructure that makes music commercially sustainable.

Ghana's recording industry did not begin with Spotify, TikTok or an artiste discovering the magic of a digital distribution account. Its history stretches back nearly a century.

In the 1920s, recording companies such as Zonophone and His Master's Voice were already documenting Ghanaian music for commercial distribution. Among the pioneers was Kwame Asare, popularly known as Jacob Sam, whose 1928 recording of Yaa Amponsah became a landmark in recorded highlife.

In 1948, Decca established a permanent recording studio in Accra, widely recognised as the first of its kind in West Africa. It became an important recording centre for influential musicians, including E.T. Mensah's Tempos, King Bruce's Black Beats and E.K. Nyame's Guitar Band.

By the 1960s and 1970s, Ghana had developed a formidable recording and manufacturing ecosystem. Ambassador Records, Record Manufacturers Ghana and the Ghana Film Studio contributed to production, while local studios and vinyl-pressing facilities helped take Ghanaian music to commercial audiences.

In other words, we were doing more than making music. We were manufacturing records, employing people, distributing products, developing businesses and exporting culture.

Highlife was not just a sound. It was an industry, complete with machinery, investment and commercial ambition.

Economic difficulties, declining local pressing facilities and the popularity of cassette duplication weakened the old system from the late 1970s into the 1980s.

The industry adapted. Cassettes became the new currency, while businesses such as Frimprince Music, Prince Dave Records, Megastar and Soul Records helped keep Ghanaian music commercially alive.

Later, labels such as Slip Music became important players in highlife, gospel and popular music.

The packaging changed, the technology evolved and distribution found new routes. But one principle remained constant: music needed investment, organisation and businesses willing to take risks.

Somebody understood what we occasionally forget today: a microphone can create a star, but it takes a business to build an empire.

The Modern Label Era: Building Stars and Brands

The emergence of hiplife and contemporary Afropop introduced another generation of producer-led and artiste-led music companies.

Lynx Entertainment, founded by Richie Mensah in 2006, became a notable example of structured talent development, contributing to the careers of artistes such as Asem, Eazzy, MzVee, KiDi and Kuami Eugene.

Other notable players included Samini Music, Black Avenue Musik, BBnZ Live, Highly Spiritual Music, Legacy Life Entertainment, Sarkcess Music and Burniton Music.

These companies understood that releasing songs was only the beginning. There was branding, artist development, production, promotion, management and commercial partnerships to consider.

Some have evolved, others have scaled down, while most have disappeared from the industry's spotlight. The problem is not that every label has vanished. It is that Ghana has not built enough strong, sustainable music businesses to match the extraordinary talent it produces.

We have plenty of people interested in discovering the next superstar, but far fewer adequately capitalised institutions willing to invest in what happens after the discovery.

Digital technology has made it easier than ever for Ghanaian artistes to take their music global. Today, an independent musician can release a song without waiting for a traditional executive's blessing. That is progress, and nobody should romanticise unnecessary gatekeeping.

But let us not confuse access with capacity.

Having a distribution account does not automatically make someone a music entrepreneur. Uploading songs and chasing streams are one thing; financing campaigns, building brands, negotiating licensing deals and turning music catalogues into wealth are entirely different ball games.

That is where modern record labels become relevant.

Artistes may not need old-fashioned record deals, but they certainly need transparent partnerships that provide investment, expertise and commercial muscle.

Independence is beautiful, but being your own artiste, accountant, lawyer, marketer, distribution manager and CEO can quickly turn musical freedom into corporate slavery.

Let's Celebrate the Businesses Behind the Music

The Telecel Ghana Music Awards should seriously consider restoring its Record Label of the Year category. Stars do not magically manufacture themselves, and the businesses investing behind the hits deserve their moment in the spotlight.

The Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry must also reposition itself to champion modern labels, distributors, music rights and stronger industry partnerships.

Beyond awards and applause, Ghana needs investment, better contracts, effective copyright protection and locally owned music catalogues. International partnerships are welcome, but Ghanaian businesses must develop enough commercial muscle to negotiate from positions of strength.

We must stop exporting our talent while importing the business power to profit from it.

Ghana does not lack musical talent. What we lack are sufficiently strong institutions capable of turning that talent into enduring commercial power.

We need labels that think beyond the next release, executives who understand intellectual property and investors who recognise that music catalogues can be valuable assets long after the latest hit has disappeared from the charts.

Our history proves that we have built such structures before. Our contemporary successes prove that the talent remains.

What is missing is the ambition to connect the two.

Because an industry that can produce stars but cannot build businesses around them will spend its lifetime celebrating other people's commercial victories.

After nearly a century of making music, Ghana deserves more than applause. It deserves ownership, investment and power.