Ghanaian singer KiDi has shared one of the biggest lessons from his music career, saying he wishes he had paid closer attention to the business side of the industry before signing contracts.

Speaking on the Konnected Minds Podcast, the Lomo Lomo hitmaker said while his passion for music drove him as a young artiste, he failed to appreciate that the industry is as much a business as it is about creativity.

“I would not have been an overexcited young man who wanted to just make music for the passion,” he said.

“Because no matter how much passion you have, it’s show business. There’s a business aspect of it. You can make all the music, make all the love songs and make the world dance, but if you don’t read the fine print, you work your whole life, and then you realise that you’ve worked, but there’s nothing to show for it.”

When asked whether he owns all of his master recordings, KiDi revealed that he does not, but declined to go into detail.

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“Not all of it. Like I said, to go into detail about this conversation, we would have to dive deep, deep, deep. So I’ll leave it here. I wish I read the fine print, but I didn’t. So I will deal with the consequences of not reading the fine print,” he said.

Offering advice to upcoming musicians who frequently seek guidance through his direct messages, the singer kept his response simple: “Read the fine prints.”

KiDi also reflected on how fortunate he was at the beginning of his career, explaining that his early experiences meant he never had to worry about paying for studio sessions.

For the first time in an interview, he mentioned his former University of Ghana schoolmate, Sena Biteer, whom he credited for providing him with access to a recording studio.

“I’ve never mentioned his name in any interview, but today I will mention his name. Sena Biteer. We used to be in the University of Ghana together. He happened to have studio equipment. He was rich. He had a whole studio set-up,” KiDi recounted.

According to him, Biteer would regularly invite him to record music, eliminating the financial hurdles many aspiring artistes face.

“He’d be like, ‘Come, come, we want to record.’ So I’ve never had to go through the process of looking for money to pay for studio sessions,” he said.

KiDi explained that because people around him were always eager to support his talent, financial challenges never shaped his perspective on pursuing music.

“In life, you’re only exposed to what your reality is. My reality was people were always ready to offer help to me because anytime they heard me sing, they’d be like, ‘Talent, talent, this is something I want to be part of.’ So even though I had no money, it was never a thing in my mind,” he added.

PAT/EB