Don't blame only the artistes for show cancelations - Don D

Dennis Boafo, CEO of Ghana Music Awards USA has taken a swipe at his colleague promoters in the diaspora, stressing that Ghanaian artistes should not be solely blamed for the cancellation of international shows.

In the last couple of days, some musicians have publicly announced a cancellation of their tours. Some of these artistes have cited ill-health as the reason but a section of the public claim it is just a camouflage. They claim that these musicians could not sell tickets hence going ahead with the show would be a disaster, making them feign sickness.

In a Joy FM Twitter Space, Eric Nii Tetteh, popularly known as Alordia, a Ghanaian event and music promoter based in the United Kingdom, noted that these tours would not be canceled if musicians involved Ghanaian event organisers outside the country.

As per Alordia's perspective, no matter the significance of international event organizers, if they fail to involve Ghanaian promoters, they will consistently struggle to attain the desired attendance for such tours.

Speaking on the same platform, Dennis Boafo remarked that most of the promoters in the diaspora are also at fault as regards the cancelation of shows. He recalled how “one event promoter literally told another artiste to shun his show due to indifferences”.

According to him, certain treatments meted out to musicians do not encourage dialogue.

Mr. Boafo opined that the industry is an ecosystem and there is a need for collaborations. He admonished “promoters in the diaspora to unite and push the Ghana agenda like the Nigerians are doing”, stressing that “we are our own enemies”.

While he acknowledged that some artistes “have been ungrateful to organisers”, Boafo said it was imperative organisers offered support for musicians and vice versa even when the other party has not asked for such gesture.

“I believe when you respect them, they will also respect you back,” said Boafo.