Artistes Managers: “Why Wait After The Show?”

There are some things in this world that ones needs to taste or be part of it before he can really comment or crucify somebody on it. One saying goes “you need to be part of them to think and do things like them”. It holds true in this particular feature you are about to digest. It was an honourable duty for me presenting one of the best musicians for an event at the national theatre as the manager and promoter of that award winning musician. Therefore when I started chasing that contract, I knew I was in a for a big cash especially on the phone before I met the person who was doing the bargain in person. Of course, the first thing that needed to be understood and agreed by both parties in our interaction was the fee to be agreed on. It was not that huge so I was so sure to receive everything in full until I was called to clear my cheque in their (event organizer`s) office. I went there and surprisingly, it was half of the agreed amount which was given to me to be cleared the next day. I was at the bank the next day and how to clear that money became another story altogether where the tellers had to ensure that a payment has to be done elsewhere before there will be enough money to pay me. Out of anger over that going on and forth, I left the back until the organizers informed me again that they have been able to clear issues so I can now go for my money. That notwithstanding, the rule that I have to take my money in full before my artiste mounts the stage was still valid and held in high esteem. The night of the event came and in high spirit to push my artiste to deliver one of the splendid performances for my interest, I got to the venue and the hall hosting the event was as dry as the desert. We had no option than to deliver what we have been paid to do since the organizers themselves had faith in the few people scattered in the auditorium. This is where as the manager and promoter, I had to make sure that my duties will be executed with perfection so I started the search for the remaining cash to be paid me. I had to make sure the artiste fails to mount the stage until I have my money in full, but before I could chase the one in the contract, the name of the artiste had been mentioned. Therefore, for fear of being talked about by the few radio presenters present, she mounted the stage in my absence. So how do I get my money when my cards have been thrown on board without a win? The event organizers enjoyed the performance themselves, danced and sung along the songs until the end of the show. My bone of contention was about the fact that I had to wait for more hours to get the remaining cash from the event organizers. It was clear that they were waiting to make some sales from the events ticket before they could pay that small remaining cash. So what is the need to agree to play a gig for an event organizer and understand to be paid after the show. This is just a fair warning to all artistes managers and promoters in this country. It`s high time event organizers respect your work and accord you the necessary regard to keep you in business. To add insult to injury, the person brought the money and it was not the full amount and without any sense of shyness, she was able to tell me this is what they have been able to raise so we should take it as such. My humble advise is that all event organizers should get their budget before moving forward to organize any event and again, artistes managers and promoters should also take their charges in full before mounting any stage to perform.

Source: Flex Newspaper

Why Sarkodie Wears Shades???

Has it ever crossed anyone’s mind why Ghana’s fastest rapper, Sarkodie, wears shades over his eyes any time he’s on stage? Well, the 2012 Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year says he wears them to hide something - Tears. “Whenever I’m on stage and the crowd yells my name ecstatically during my performance, I often get emotional and I shed tears”, the Obidiponbidi rapper revealed to Showbiz. “I get emotional because my audience always reminds me of where I’ve come from. I have always wanted to be big and even though the journey has not been easy, I have made it and now I can confidently say I am one of the biggest artistes in Ghana, thanks to God, and thanks to my fans. I have promised not to let my fans down but to always give them the best in me”, Sarkodie said. Coincidentally, Sarkodie is not the first successful Ghanaian artiste who has confessed that he gets emotional on stage to the point of shedding tears. Highlife maestro Amakye Dede told Showbiz a couple of years ago that many times he has been so overwhelmed by the response he receives during performances that he has had to turn his back to the audience to hide his tears. For Sarkodie, his greatest and perhaps most tearful event was his Rapperholic Live In Concert held last year. He said that it was the huge turnouts at that concert that he realized that his long time dream of becoming a big artiste in Ghana had been fulfilled. Born Michael Owusu Addo, the former student of IPMC says his inspiration for writing songs comes from daily live situations. “I coin my lyrics from everyday situations. I don’t really crack my brains looking for lyrics for my music; it comes naturally when I look at issues happening around the country. Asked how he can maintain his style so that he doesn’t fade away so quickly, he said God knows best the life span of musicians, “I can’t say I will be on top forever because if God says you have a year or two to do music, there is nothing you can do.   Sarkodie who rose to fame three years ago has two albums to his credit - Ma Kye and Rapperholic and has hit songs like You go kill me, Dangerous, Mensei da and I’m In Love With You feat. Efya. He has also worked with the likes of Castro, D’Cryme, Appietus, D.Black, Kwabena Kwabena, Raquel, Efya, Sherifa Gunu, E.L, Scientific, Okyeame Kwame, R2Bees among others. Sarkodie would rather keep his love life a secret from the public domain but says he is grateful to his fans for supporting him this far.

Source: Graphic Showbiz

Guru, E.L., Edem To Face Court For Refusing To Perform at Tamale Concert

 

It must have been a nightmare for event organizes Gold Coast 4 Entertainment, when two Saturdays ago, they flew local music stars Guru, Edem and E.L all the way to Tamale for The African Child Concert and they refused to perform. The three artistes had taken part payment of their agreed performance fees but refused to perform upon arrival because they demanded full payment of their fees. The publicist of Gold Coast 4 Entertainment, Wisdom Carah, disclosed to Showbiz last week that Guru had charged GH¢5,000 and had been given part payment of GH¢2,500, while E.L who asked for GH¢2,000 had been paid GH¢1,000. Edem too had been paid GH¢1,250 as part payment of GH¢2,500. Describing the situation to Showbiz he said, the show started around 9:00pm with underground artistes and after two hours, the large crowd were getting restless and wanted to see the main artistes on the bill: Sherifa Gunu, Edem, Guru and E.L. “The scene became unpleasant as the angry audience started throwing sachet water and screaming for Sherifa Gunu, Edem, Guru and E.L. Sherifa Gunu somehow calmed the situation by performing four of her hit song”, Wisdom told Showbiz. “About twenty minutes after Sherifa, the angry crowd began again throwing sachet water onto the stage. Someone from the crowd came to me and said “I will kill you if I don’t see Guru and Edem”. The crowd started climbing the stage so we the organizers had to run away for our lives. For their refusal to perform the organizers are threatening court action against the three artistes “for a refund of their money plus interest, and also for endangering our lives”. Wisdom said, the Company will do all it can do to deal with them because it states clearly in the contract that two working days after the event before the rest of the money will be paid, so the artistes didn’t have any reason for refusing to perform. Speaking for Guru, his manager, Daniel Obeng, told Showbiz on Monday that Guru was ready to perform just that the organizers were not time conscious. “Guru together with the other artistes were in the bus at the stadium for more than three hours and nobody said anything to us. At a point in time, I had to come out of the bus to confront the organizers and ask them when Guru was going to perform. It was getting very late and because there was miscommunication, we left for the hotel” Daniel Obeng said. But musician Edem would not comment on the issue when he was contacted. E.L on his part said there was miscommunication and that was the reason he couldn’t’ perform.

Source: Graphic Showbiz