Ghanaian entertainment critic and event organizer Kwaku Osei Korankye Asiedu has called for a major rethink of the country’s creative arts industry, questioning the economic value and structure of flagship events such as the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA).
KOKA, speaking on Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana on Monday, May 11, 2026, said the awards scheme and the broader creative industry are not delivering enough value to justify their current form.
According to him, the industry continues to recycle the same format without innovation or measurable economic impact.
“It’s become the same thing over and over,” he said, adding that events like the TGMA can be predicted “like betting.”
He questioned what he described as the lack of economic planning behind the awards and the broader entertainment ecosystem.
“What is the economic value? What kind of economic valuation do you attain with that association?” he asked.
KOKA argued that the creative industry has not done enough to connect talent, fashion, production, and event organisation into a structured economic chain that benefits more stakeholders.
He suggested that designers, sound engineers, and other creatives are often left out of the real value chain, saying there is little deliberate effort to create new markets around such events.
“You need to be deliberate in making people. That means you’ve created a business for that gentleman,” he said.
On the structure of the awards scheme, he proposed a more formal governance system involving both government and private sector actors.
“I feel government should be able to say that… 20 percent back into the organisation of these events,” he suggested, adding that a public-private partnership board should oversee the awards.
He argued that such a system would improve planning, investment, and revenue tracking, while also expanding the reach of Ghana’s creative economy.
KOKA also questioned the selection and voting process for award winners, saying it often fails to reflect the actual consumers of Ghanaian music.
“The actual people who are using the music are not the people who are voting,” he noted.
Touching on industry promotion, he said Ghanaian music events should be designed to create lasting value, similar to global entertainment brands.
“We need to create memories. Entertainment, creative business, it’s purely about memories,” he said.
He further called for improvements in broadcasting rights management, suggesting that opening up bidding processes could increase revenue and transparency.
