Ghanaian artistes not intentional about international promotion — George Britton

Renowned Ghanaian artiste manager and event organizer, George Britton, has pointed out that many Ghanaian artistes are not deliberate in their approach to international promotion, particularly in the United Kingdom.

In an interview with fellow artiste manager Sammy Flex, Britton expressed frustration with the current state of Ghanaian music promotion abroad.

He criticized the common practice where artistes visit international markets, only to conduct minimal promotion.

“Our artistes come here, and they don’t do promotion. They just come here, go for one interview for the show they came for, and that’s done,” he remarked, adding that this approach is insufficient to make a lasting impact.

Britton emphasized that promoting Ghanaian music internationally requires more effort.

“No, it’s not done that way. You know, people actually come and live here and stay here in London; familiarize yourself with that environment — the people,” he advised.

He also stressed the importance of making a concerted effort to elevate both the artistes and the brand of Ghana on the global stage.

“We need to be very intentional about saying, ‘Okay, we have to make our artistes big, and not just the artistes but the name Ghana big here!’” Britton said.

Drawing comparisons to Nigeria, Britton pointed out the significant progress made by Nigerian music on the global scene, largely due to deliberate promotional strategies.

“Nigeria has a different perception now. People have different positions about Nigeria because of the music,” he explained.

Britton further noted that the process of international promotion requires substantial financial investment.

“It’s going to cost you a lot of money to do promotion here because investors are coming. If you want to do the same, put in money,” he said.

“These guys have been able to secure big deals from the labels, where the label doesn’t care to put a million dollars or a million pounds into promoting a song. So, we will have to make it very intentional,” he added.