The organisers say the event, titled the On-Air Music Business Seminar and tailored for gospel artists, will serve as a platform to educate viewers who have professional ambitions and equip them with knowledge to thrive in today’s music industry. It also forms part of the TV channel’s education and empowerment programming.
“The overall music industry is based on the creation and exploitation of music-based intellectual property,” Hope Channel Ghana manager Nii Ayite Hammond told Music In Africa. “A lot has changed in the music industry from 20 years ago. The emergence of digital technology and file sharing has brought about a dramatic decline in the once hugely profitable industry.
“A careful study of the music space in Ghana reveals to us that Christian musicians are not taking full advantage of this digital age, especially Adventist musicians. As an Adventist Christian TV channel, we deemed it necessary to provide the platform for understanding the music industrial transformation and how Christian musicians can make use of digital.”
Rex Omar, Sadiq Abdulai Abu, Kwame Dadzie, Stephen Nasei Boadi and Rexford Kyei have been confirmed as facilitators of the seminar, which will be hosted by Steve Boat. They will take audiences through topics such as digital media, branding, 360 deals, the financial opportunities available to artists, and the value of music videos.
“We needed people with in-depth knowledge about the subject areas who are in tune with current happenings, with knowledge that can empower our Christian Musicians in this digital age,” Hammond said about the choice of facilitators.
Dadzie said: “I am expecting that at end of the programme, the audience, particularly musicians and music managers, will be exposed to some of the real business ideas that will help shape their career.”