ghana music awards 2013 under threat

Charter House, organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), is under pressure because the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has threatened to boycott this year’s event unless there is an increment in the monetary package for musicians who would pick up awards or perform at the event.

Sources from the organizers revealed that a “strong delegation” from MUSIGA has been meeting with Charter House on the quiet over the subject but no compromise has been reached as talks ended in a deadlock with no date fixed for another meeting.

“When they came (MUSIGA delegation) they were saying that we should increase the amount we pay to their members who get nominations and also pick up awards, from GHC3000 to GHC5000. They are also demanding that no musician should take below GHC10, 000 as performance fee during the awards. This is outrageous and it is surprising they are demanding such an amount for just a performance,” the source disclosed and added that the title sponsor, Vodafone, is not pleased about the impasse.

Further checks by the paper revealed that the MUSIGA delegation, during the meetings further demanded that Charter House and the Union should sign a contractual agreement that formalizes the terms and conditions of the partnership between the two groups as far as organizing the Music Awards is concerned.

Charter House, for the past 14 years, has organized the Ghana Music Awards in partnership with MUSIGA and after each event remitted some money to the Union for the welfare of its members.

The amount forwarded to MUSIGA is however determined by the discretion of Charter House and the quantum has varied over the years. As part of the MUSICA demands, the Union is requesting that contractual agreement should clearly explain the exact percentage of the sponsorship package Charter House should remit to the Union as well as the precise role the Union would play to make the event a success.

Though not officially confirmed, Vodafone, the title sponsor of the Music Awards, is said to have given Charter House an amount of $ 1 million for the 2013 edition and MUSIGA is requesting from this figure, an amount of GHC250,000 for its welfare department.

Meanwhile, Charter House has set May 18 as the awards date and it is not clear how the company would handle this ongoing misunderstanding with MUSIGA.