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The chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), Rex Omar on Monday, December 18, 2023, posted the list on his Facebook page which made Asantewaa, the lady who is hoping to break the Guinness World Records for the longest singing marathon, express her displeasure.

According to Afua Asantewaa Aduonum, the list was supposed to be confidential and what Rex did was unacceptable.

Though he deleted the post later, Rex Omar apologized in a Facebook video claiming that he did not know that the list was supposed to be kept confidential since it was not specified in the letter. The GHAMRO chairman added he had no bad intentions even when he posted the list.

“They had brought the list and because of the controversy, I don’t know anything about the project as to whether the list of songs should be confidential. I didn’t know. It was not on the letter with the list that they brought us and the person who brought it did not say any such thing. So for people to be clear that the thing that we wanted them to do has been done, I posted the first page. That was when they called me to say that it should have been confidential.”

Mr. Omar added that he deleted the list he leaked because he wanted people to understand that he had no ill intentions against the Guiness record candidate.

“So because it’s their project, I have deleted it and I’m apologizing not because I’ve done anything wrong. But because as an institution and as the present leader of the institution, I want people to know that my intentions are clear,” he said.

Rex Omar then called on the event organizers to provide a list of all the songs to be performed during the Sing-a-thon in adherence to copyright regulations.

After the leak, Ghanaians expressed dissatisfaction with the GHAMRO Chairman, for revealing the list of confirmed 'Sing-a-thon' songs for Afua Asantewaa.

Meanwhile, Afua is gearing up to attempt breaking the Guinness World Record for the 'longest singing marathon by an individual' during an event scheduled for December 24 - 27 in Accra. She intends to sing between 117 and 120 hours.

Currently, Sunil Waghmare from India, who sang for 105 hours in 2012 is the record holder.

The Deputy Director of Creative Art Agency, Frank Owusu has hailed the Support Expansion of Ghana Music Industry (SEGMI) to be the game changer for Ghanaian artistes to reap the fruit of their labour unlike previous years, hence the need for them to really behind the project and wholly embrace it.

SEGMI is a two-year project which the Ghanaian Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture under the agency of the Creative Art Industry and the Government of France through the French Embassy have reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on to have Ghanaian creative art players like film makers, artistes, music producers, sound engineers, music directors, song writers, photographers, fashion designers, among others get trained on how to benefit from their art work.

The project which sort to ignite Ghana's creative spark and unleash the potential of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Ghana, had its first tour dubbed the Ghana Creative Mixer took place in Cape Coast in the Central Region on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at the Alliance Francaise office with a presentation of initiatives for creatives in Ghana and a workshop on copyright for participants.

The tour as scheduled will equally took place in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on December 7 to conclude in Tamale in the Northern Region on December 9, 2023.

Frank Owusu speaking in an interview with Sompa News Eric Annan noted that in as much as a worker duly deserves his salary, seems different in the case of Ghanaian musicians who appears poor no matter the number of albums released, unlike abroad where a musician can turn a millionaire overnight by reason of releasing just one hit song.

Thus the need for Ghanaian artistes in particular to actively get involve to free themselves from their age-long shackles of poverty upon been schooled on copyright and its related issues.

Emily Meisel, the Project Manager for SEGMI elaborated the project to come in different components with its mean goal being to strengthen the Ghanaian music industry and to have a better remuneration for Ghanaian artistes.

Project Manager for Creative Africa Ghana which is also a project involving fifteen (15) African Countries, Marion Astier asserted her outfit to be working on bridging the gap between artistry and entrepreneurship to foster innovation and create job opportunities for persons in the cultural and creative art industry.

Source//Sompaonline.com/Eric Annan