In the new era of music where Live band music is so necessary and equally important to both the general public and event organizers, 18newspaper.com thinks it is about time all band groups in Ghana get serious branding.

A band is just like a any musician, both put words together to touch the hearts and soul of people who later fall in love with them hence they build a fan base.

18newspaper.com can confirm that bands in Ghana are not respected not because people don’t want to respect them, because they (Band) see themselves as a backing vocalist and not musicians.

Band groups can equally record music in the studios, have an album, have tours both locally and internationally but these days what do we see, all the band groups in Ghana have been turned into back up vocalist either backing a particular artiste or playing at a gathering and performing other artiste songs.

The worst thing is these bands dress any how behind their instruments, imaging they say is very important in showbiz but these band groups have no knowledge about the word ‘image’.

Ghana was known as one of the best countries which produces the best band group in Africa and the world which is Osibisa, (respect to the late Mac Tonton and his team). These guys took the world by storm not because they had some magic, but because they knew what they were about.

Osibisa as the best African band group in those days were seen like a musician, they recorded, performed and sold their own records. The most interesting part is, any where they performed they always look uniform, and they had that niche of a band image as compared to many other bands in the country.

18newspaper does not want to put certain band names out there, but if the so called band groups in Ghana have dreams of going far as a team, then it is not only about unity here, we are looking at BRANDING and appealing to the world as a musician and not backup vocalist.

There are several examples of bands in the past who used to perform at funerals, weddings among others and had no business plan to their career hence the death of many band groups in the country and the new crop of bands are acting in a similar way to the old folks.

If live band music will grow in this country then the new set of band groups have to be serious, talking about that,  what happened to BANDS ALIVE on TV3, am sure the late Mac Tonto will be sad where ever he is today if that programme dies off.

A word to the wise is so enough to those who want to listen, band groups in Ghana should get serious and get proper business plans for they are just like a musician, they need branding.

Story: Nana Yaw Wiredu/www.18newspaper.com