Rex Omar questions Mr Drew over GHAMRO royalty registration status
Veteran highlife musician and Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) figure Rex Omar has publicly addressed grievances raised by Afrobeat artist Mr. Drew regarding the non-payment of royalties. In a firm response, Omar questioned whether the younger artist had fulfilled the necessary administrative requirements to qualify for payouts. The exchange follows recent public complaints from Mr. Drew about the lack of financial returns for his music from the collective management organization. Speaking in an interview on Okay FM, Rex Omar stated that he was personally unfamiliar with Mr. Drew’s career or his catalog. He emphasized that the mere act of releasing popular music does not automatically entitle a creator to royalties from GHAMRO. Instead, artists are required to undergo a formal registration process, which includes documenting their works and officially assigning their music rights to the organization. Without these legal steps, Omar argued, the organization lacks the mandate to collect or distribute funds on behalf of a creator. To illustrate the administrative necessity of registration, Omar compared the situation to an insurance policy. He argued that an individual cannot expect to receive compensation for an accident if they never registered for or contributed to an insurance plan in the first place. By this logic, he insisted that artists who bypass the formal system have no grounds for public complaints when payments do not materialize. He urged creators to prioritize the business side of their careers to ensure they can track and receive their earnings effectively. This public friction underscores a persistent gap in communication and understanding between GHAMRO and a segment of the current generation of Ghanaian musicians. While the organization maintains that its systems are based on specific legal and administrative frameworks, many artists continue to express frustration over the perceived difficulty of accessing their royalties. The situation serves as a reminder to the music industry of the vital importance of intellectual property management and the need for greater education regarding rights administration within the creative sector.
