We are hungry - Stonebwoy tells Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

Livingstone Etse Satekla, better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, has employed this metaphor ‘we are hungry’ to describe the state of the creative industry in Ghana.

He made these assertions when he joined an Instagram Live discussion by the Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

‘’Government has helped the creative industry, but more needs to be done. If two (2) million people in Ghana stream our songs through the proper channels, then we can make enough money and help government through the taxes we pay’’ he said.

When Kojo Oppong Nkrumah suggested that upcoming musicians should try diversifying their income, Stonebwoy answered, ‘’There is nothing to diversify, myself and some of my colleagues like Sarkordie, Shatta Wale, Edem, Samini among others are merchandising our work. What we need to do is to connect the global system to Ghana.’’

The two also had a discussion about digitally monetising Ghanaian creative content.

‘’Talking about digital distribution, government needs to support the industry to digitally monetise our craft’’ Stonebwoy said.

That led to the Minister promising him a meeting with his colleague Minister of Tourism.

‘’ I will talk to Barbara Oteng Gyasi to set up a meeting with you and the others in the industry to see the way forward’’ Kojo Oppong Nkrumah promised.

A delighted Stonebwoy suggested that the meeting should include some of the senior musicians, his squad like Sarkodie, Shatta Wale, Edem and those after them like Kidi, Kwame Eugene etc.

He also revealed that his one-month old Anloga Junction album is doing very well, but there are some down sides.

‘’Online streaming of the album is very good, except that we haven’t been able to go on the road because of coronavirus. When the coronavirus is over, we will go on tour to promote it” he said.