From colonial emancipation into the fourth republic: Lessons for Ghana's collective management for musicians and their works

Abstract

After Ghana gained independence in 1957, only two Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) have ever been established to collect and distribute royalties for copyright owners in musical works—the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA), established in 1986, and the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) established in 2011, which presently operates. Before them, the UK's Performing Rights Society (PRS) served this role during Ghana's colonial rule. Using an Intellectual Legal History methodology, this paper traces the evolution of CMOs in Ghana's music industry, analyzing the transition from COSGA to GHAMRO, assessing their operational effectiveness, and drawing lessons to shape future collective management practices. This paper argues that with the peculiarities of the digital age already posing its toll, the present challenges in copyright and collective management—such as, monitoring and licensing lapses, intermittent administrative absentia coupled with the seeming dearth of organizational expertism and the gaps in legal and operational frameworks, have deep-seated origins traceable to COSGA's operations. And that, the switch to GHAMRO, appears largely nominal than transformative, with limited impact on the structural and institutional reform of collective management in Ghana. As Ghana navigates the global and digital context, it is imperative to draw upon the lessons of history to inform the trajectory of its collective management practices. This includes, among others, reassessing the legal framework and fostering institutional competence.