Ghana Music Awards organiser: It will take 2 years for industry to return to normal

During an interview with Y 107.9 FM on 8 July, Theresa Ayoade predicated that it would take at least two years for the sector to return to normal and said the pandemic had effectively brought the industry to a halt.

“We have been the most hit with this pandemic because we absolutely cannot work," she said. "Other industries have been hit by reduced demand because of a general reduction in purchasing power, but for us, we have not worked at all.

“The serious erosion in confidence in gathering and social distancing that we are promoting – and rightly so – to curb the spread of the virus is not working for our industry. So, our industry has still not picked up, and we envisage that it’s going to take two years for our industry to get back to where it used to be."

She revealed that Charterhouse Ghana had not operated as a profitable business since March and at management level, they were still trying to regroup and “recalibrate.”

Charterhouse, which currently employs a staff of 80 and more than 800 contract workers for various projects, has been working with skeleton staff to stay afloat. Ayoade said, however, that stakeholders in the industry were gradually finding their feet.

Ayoade also insisted that the industry could not be allowed to collapse, and lauded various stimulus packages by the government for the sector.

“Companies need to survive through this period so that when things get better we can bounce back. If we don’t prop up these companies to survive, then, when things come back, there’ll be nobody to do anything.”

On embracing the new digital future, which is expected to see a major increase in virtual concerts, Ayoade is of the view that the current free model has been hardly sustainable and that a more viable approach is required urgently.

“If we cannot meet physically and we have to meet digitally, then there should be some compensation for the parties involved, like the organisers and the artists,” she said.

Ayoade confirmed on 8 June that a downscaled version of the 2020 VGMAs will be held in August.

Read the Music In Africa Foundation's report on the financial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the African music sector here.