I don't make much money in Ghana – Steve Bedi

Ghanaian saxophonist, Steve Bedi, in an interview with Flex newspaper last Saturday, June 18, 2016, has stated that the Ghanaian music industry doesn’t pay.

He said he had realized over the years that within the industry, people were used to the old stuff like the high life, hip life and currently the hip-hop.

“In the past, there wasn’t a person who plays the instrument popping up into the scene. I know groups like Osibisa and Uhuru band have done it as a group but singularly there hasn’t been anything like that,” he intimated.

The industry throws more light on other genres of music but not instrumentalists who are the people making the music. If there is one person in the country who is doing well outside and making the country proud, we should throw more light on him or her.

“I have always been treated like a king outside the country than my own country. I meet other people who have the name and are globally known but when it comes to execution we are good and we much up to them. Even when we push to progress we are being pushed back as if we don’t deserve that," he said.

"We have a lot of work to do in this country. The industry should find a way to be recognizing the musicians who have done something remarkable in the industry and must be celebrated as such and not giving one person an award as the best instrumentalist of the year based on their own merits,” he added.

Steve Bedi has an album to his credit and his second album will be launched in July. He is looking at his own country recognizing him as a Jazz artiste and even if they do, they should do more.

He said the musician’s unions and radio presenters should help because they are the people that make our music get to the world.

“I get tired listening to some DJ’s because it sounds monotonous. They keep giving us what we already know. I must say there are some musicians who are good and have their songs online, they can go and download and play. We have emerging Jazz musicians popping up and it shouldn’t always be high life, hip life, Dancehall,” he noted.

He also reiterated that we need to celebrate our own people and not leave them for others to celebrate them for us because nobody in America will come and celebrate Ghanaian musicians. They will rather celebrate theirs.

When asked if the industry is paying, he said: “the industry is not paying, I must be honest. I wouldn’t say event organizers are not doing their best but it is not enough because other musicians moving to this country are paid dollars and good but our artistes are treated as a local artiste."

"Eighty percent of what I am enjoying now is from outside Ghana. How many artistes have such an opportunity? What I am paid for twenty minutes outside Ghana is ten times what I am being paid in Ghana, my own country," he added.

"So I will prefer to go out there and make money and come back. I go outside and I raise the flag high and I am proud of it. I am proud when I am asked where I come from and I say Ghana but I don’t make ends meet in Ghana,” Bedi said.

“Ghanaian artistes can much up to those outside the country but how many artistes have such opportunity to tour the world and also make money. There are a lot of people who want to be like me and even more than me and I want to help those coming up to be more than me because I believe being an artiste is not just about being a rapper or hip-hopper,” he added.