Chief Executive Officer of JMS Records, John Mensah Sarpong, has disclosed the startling revelation behind the reason why the Ghana Music Right Organization (GHAMRO) has been rendered inactive.
According to John Mensah Sarpong, GHAMRO, a vital entity in Ghana’s music industry, is dormant due to the denial of its operating license.
GHAMRO, an organization entrusted with the task of managing music royalties and safeguarding artists’ rights, has been grappling with internal conflicts and structural challenges.
The organization’s license renewal request, however, was met with refusal from the Attorney General’s office.
The Attorney General’s decision stemmed from GHAMRO’s failure to implement recommendations put forth by a Mediation Committee, which was established to resolve the organization’s internal conflicts and streamline its operations.
The committee’s suggestions were aimed at restructuring GHAMRO, enabling it to effectively collect and distribute royalties to its members.
John Mensah Sarpong revealed that the Mediation Committee, formed in 2017, identified critical deficiencies in GHAMRO’s structure for royalty management.
“Since 2017 when these recommendations were made, to date, GHAMRO has not met them” he added.
The organization was tasked with carrying out a forensic audit, instituting robust collection and distribution mechanisms, reviewing its constitution, and conducting elections based on the revised framework within a span of 12 months.
“GHAMRO was tasked by the Attorney General to carry out a forensic auditing, put structures in place for collection and distribution of royalties, review the GHAMRO’s constitution and have an election based on the revised constitution within 12 months”, Mr Sarpong stated.
However, since the issuance of these recommendations, GHAMRO has failed to meet the stipulated requirements.
This lapse has now led to the denial of its operating license.