My heart aches when I hear people blame arts – oriented unions and associations for the woes of showbiz people especially when they fall sick, are impoverished, or are involved in accidents of any kind.
I agree that joining associations is a good thing. Apart from it serving as a means of socializing and uniting for a particular aim, it serves as a welfare venture for them.
My worry, however, is that people in the arts and entertainment have reposed so much trust in the arts associations that even when they have catarrh, they want to get money from the welfare funds of these associations. I would not rubbish the essence of the welfare aspect of associations but I would want to state emphatically that those things are supposed to be add – ups to cushion the artiste in times of need. They are just ancillary sources of welfare. The major sources should be planned, cultivated and borne by the artiste.
As an artiste, you should be concerned about your future, risks and accidents. You need to know that there shall be a time in your life that your physical strength and popularity will ebb away. These are things that are normal to happen to the individual and so if you don’t plan towards uncertainties in life, you will always blame people for things they are not responsible for.
I know a lot of musicians who are making a lot of money but have forgotten to even invest in other things with the money they get. Most of these musicians think much about the expensive clothes to wear, hot girls to chase and the most luxurious cars to ride in. Some don’t even think about acquiring their own houses. They think too much about the fun they are having today.
There are musicians who when in their prime, earned a lot of money but failed to do any investments. Investment takes many forms and I would want every artiste or showbiz person to be interested in any one or more of them. There are treasury bills selling at banks and financial institutions and when artistes join the craze in buying treasury bills, it adds up to their income.
A treasury bill is a short term investment product (from 91 days to 365 days) offered by the Bank of Ghana on behalf of the Government. Treasury bills are backed by the credit of the Government. Purchasing a treasury bill is lending money to the Government.
Upon maturity, the government will repay the amount it borrowed plus the determined interest rate given at the time borrowed (or the time you bought the Treasury bill). The interest rate payable depends on how long you lent your money for.
Creative arts people can invest by buying shares in companies or also establishing their own companies aside the music ventures so that in the unlikely event that music is not fetching them money any longer, they can rely on proceeds from these investments. Buying shares in companies means you form a part of the unit of the company’s ownership.
Showbizers can also set up businesses that are related or not related to their fields of endeavour. It adds extra income to what they earn from their various arts trades.
Lastly, there are also very reliable insurance schemes that have been instituted by some well – meaning insurance companies that actually take care of people in times of accidents and sickness as it has been characterized by most Ghanaian musicians of late.
Sonnie Badu owns the K and O Estate Agency that is responsible for selling houses. He owns the SB.UK (inspired by you) clothing line that consists of shoes, royal empire, gold and silver crest cufflinks, pen, logo-polos, Jesus boy/girl shirts, logo-jumpers, logo-vests, and the royal empire crest shirts. Sonnie is also a jet consultant, among a blizzard of other business engagements.
Ghanaian actor Kwaku Manu owns a school in Kumasi and this can at least generate more income for him even when acting is not fetching him more money. There are other showbiz people like Sarkodie, Shatta Wale, D Black among others, that are also involved in entrepreneurial ventures and this is something that should be emulated by all showbiz people.
If these showbizers would take cognizance of the importance of these avenues of planning for the future, I am not sure they will always be blaming the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), the Ghana Actors Guild, Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO), the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) and the like even when they find themselves in predicaments that require financial rescue.
How much can these associations offer you to cater for your needs? This article is not to discourage creative artists and entertainers from joining associations but to urge them to also prepare and plan for their future without relying solely on their association for their welfare.
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