I write this piece with disappointment and rage. I feel we have joked with the entertainment industry for far too long and it is about time we made people understand that, we won’t tolerate mediocrity.
4syte TV is one of the best music video channels in Ghana that has survived the test of time. For the past decade they have proven their worth and have given platforms to a good number of our musicians to ignite their potentials.
Last Saturday, 14th November, 2015 their annual award, the 4Syte Music Video Awards was held at the Accra International Conference Centre and as usual, enthusiasts and industry patrons were in attendance. The awards scheme which used to be one of the most celebrated and revered in Ghana, was on the night characterized with lateness, lack of sequence and poor coordination.
The show started after 10pm according to my source at the dome with up and coming artiste performing in the darkness, probably a deliberate attempt to prevent their performances being captured by the media.
Few years ago, getting your music video played on 4syte TV and subsequently getting a nomination was a big deal. Everybody wanted to be associated with the 4syte TV brand. It is no secret that musicians from Nigeria and other countries do come to Ghana just to get their videos on that channel. Corporate bodies always want to associate with the channel because of quality in terms of delivery. The channel was our pride. Most musicians were shooting videos just to meet the 4syte TV standard, but now things have changed.
Years down the line, the channel is becoming poorer in the execution of their activities. They now do a lot of programs without involving key stakeholders that can give facelift to it. With quick reference to the just ended awards, there was no publicity besides commercials played on their channel and YFM Ghana platforms; no press release whatsoever!
Targeting really matters but the landscape keeps expanding so you also have to reposition your strategies. The traditional media is still relevant. Blogs and website don’t want to be taken for granted so they decided to give the event a blind eye. Those who promoted the event were those who work for some of the musicians as publicists or managers.
The administrators of the channel and the award scheme should sit up and work with those who can deliver diligently to save the dying brand. This year’s event was nothing good to write home about besides DJ Black turning the place to a club to just keep the audience dancing.
Gospel artiste Qwesi Oteng who was initially invited to present award for Best Gospel Video on that night ended up presenting another category and over 24hours after the event the organizers has not issued any press statement on why they neglected nominees in the Gospel category. They were not even mentioned and till now we still don’t know the winner.
Please don’t worry yourself going on any of their social media platforms because they don’t have any information related to the awards. They have delight sharing updates on other awards outside Ghana. That’s how bad the situation is and we expect people to call the scheme a credible one? Such a joke!
I’m beginning to feel that some of the award winners are indirect investors and one way of paying them back was to award them. I still don’t know why Kiss Daniel won the Best African Act because his Woju remix wasn’t popular than Patoranking’s My Woman, Korede Bello’s Godwin, Wizkid’s Ojuolegba in Ghana in the year under review.
Please awards should not be part of a promotional package for an artiste. It dents the reputation of the scheme.
There are always issues surrounding awards scheme but the ones that are deliberate and preventable should be considered to ensure fairness. Ignace Hego should wake up from his slumber before he loses such a good brand.
Source: Jonilar
