In Ghana today, music is the heartbeat of radio every hour, every show, every jingle rides on the creative labour of musicians. Yet, beneath the vibrant airwaves lies a silent injustice: the systematic failure of many radio stations to log and report the songs they play, as required by law. This failure denies Ghanaian musicians their rightful royalties, eroding the very foundation of creative labour in our country.
It is time for musicians to stand together and compel GHAMRO the Ghana Music Rights Organisation to enforce the law that protects their intellectual property. If GHAMRO continues to overlook this fundamental duty, then Ghanaian musicians must take the bold step of suing GHAMRO to demand accountability.
The Law Is Clear Radio Must Keep Records
The Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) provides clear guidance on how broadcasters must handle creative works.
Section 23 of the Act states:
Where a work is broadcast, the broadcaster may make a recording of the broadcast with the broadcaster’s own facility and may produce copies of the recording for the broadcaster’s own use.”
“Subject to subsection (3), the copies of the recording shall be destroyed by the broadcaster within six months after the date on which the recording was made.”
“An authorised recording of exceptional documentary character may be preserved for presentation to the National Archives.”
This is what is known as the “ephemeral recording” provision of the legal foundation for logger tapes used by radio stations. It means every station is permitted and expected to record its own broadcast for internal records and compliance purposes.
More importantly, the Copyright Regulations, 2010 (L.I. 1962) go a step further. Regulation 5 explicitly requires that:
“A collective society may request monthly returns of all the authors’ works used or performed by a licensee, and the returns shall be as set out in Form D in the Fifth Schedule.”
In simple terms, every radio station licensed to broadcast music must submit monthly returns and detailed logs of all songs played to GHAMRO or the appropriate collective management organisation. These logs are the very documents used to calculate and distribute royalties to musicians.
GHAMRO Cannot Sleep on Its Duty
If the law is this clear, why are so many radio stations operating without compliance? Why are musicians still struggling to receive fair royalties in a media landscape that plays their music every day?
The problem is not just the negligence of some radio stations it is also the failure of GHAMRO to fully enforce its powers. GHAMRO is legally empowered to demand programme returns from broadcasters, inspect their records, and hold them accountable for unlicensed or unreported use of music.
Yet, we continue to hear that many stations neither log their playlists nor submit proper monthly returns. When broadcasters get away with this year after year, it is the musician who loses the one whose songs built those audiences and attracted those advertisers.
Musicians must complete GHAMRO to Act
It is time for Ghanaian musicians to take their destinies into their own hands. GHAMRO was created to serve the rights of musicians, not merely to collect licences and keep quiet. Musicians must publicly demand that GHAMRO audits radio stations and ensures that all stations comply with Section 23 of Act 690 and Regulation 5 of L.I. 1962.
If GHAMRO can not demonstrate that it is enforcing these laws, then musicians have every legal and moral right to take GHAMRO to court for failing in its statutory mandate. The law empowers rights holders the musicians themselves to hold their collective management organisations accountable for transparency and due diligence.
After all, how can royalties be distributed fairly when there are no accurate logs of what songs were played? The chain of accountability begins with GHAMRO, ensuring that every station keeps proper records and files regular returns.
Beyond Talk: A Call to Collective Action
Music is not charity. Every second a song is played on the radio, someone is earning revenue from adverts, sponsors, or airtime. The law demands that the creator of that song also earns not as a favour but as a right.
Let this be the turning point. Let every musician, producer, and composer in Ghana unite to say: “No logging, no licence.”
If a station can not provide returns, it should not be allowed to broadcast copyrighted works.
And if GHAMRO fails to enforce this, then it must be challenged even in court for neglecting its duty to protect the intellectual property rights of Ghanaian creators.
Because the day our music is respected by law is the day our creative economy will finally begin to thrive.
