Having artists perform for free at events is difficult – Baba Sadiq

Abdullai Abu Sadiq has bemoaned the lack of consensus on the part of some artists concerning performing for free at certain events.

His comment comes on the back of the discussion on encouraging a ‘no fee for performance’ policy for some events in Ghana.

In a conversation on Joy Entertainment, he said some events are non-commercial and require that artists billed to perform cooperate with the event organizers on monetary terms.

“It is very difficult getting an artiste to perform for free unless you have the relationship, first and for most, and as I said, it depends on the situation,” he said.

He advised that artists should look beyond physical payments and also think about the value the platforms bring to them.

The media entrepreneur and co-founder of 3Music Awards said after the ‘rain performance’ for Black Sherif’s ‘Kwaku the Traveller’ in 2022, a lot of artists approached him to lobby for such opportunities in the future because they saw how that concept impacted Black Sherif’s burgeoning career.

He, however, noted that the agenda of Ghana’s music industry has always been about enabling artists and not event organizers, a situation he believes does not augur well for the entertainment ecosystem.

“…the market has broken. The sponsorship market has crashed. Nobody is getting sponsorship from the sponsorship market anymore. The investment to produce these shows is not even happening anymore. These talents of when they produce their shows are running at losses,” he stated.

The discussion was premised on a similar policy that obtains in other foreign events such as the Grammy Awards, Super Bowl Halftime Show, and Global Citizen Festival, among others.