Rooms and Royalties
Accra
Two rooms in Accra where music gets made, and a GHAMRO royalty round that promised personalised statements for the first time.
Beginning July 27, 2026, the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) was set to start its first royalty distribution of the year, keeping its pledge to pay twice annually. The detail that matters sits further down the Citi Newsroom report. For the first time, every beneficiary was to receive a personalised royalty statement showing exactly which quarters generated their earnings.
A statement is a small document. It changes what an artist can see. A songwriter who knows which quarter paid has something concrete to ask about the quarters that did not.
The money in this round is GHS1,433,571.43, split four ways: background music GHS500,000.00, digital mechanical GHS706,149.55, digital performance GHS160,641.88 and live performance GHS66,780.00. Digital mechanical is the largest line. Live performance is the smallest. The single highest recipient in this distribution will receive GHS121,000.
The live line is the number to watch. It is the one closest to a room, a crowd and a band.
GHAMRO describes its job in one line: "To license music users, collect, and distribute music royalties to music right holders." It was established in 2011. Before it, the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) managed music royalties. Citi Newsroom reports that GHAMRO has recorded its strongest digital collections and its highest international royalty collections since that founding year. The same piece names the organisation's biggest hurdle as the unresolved issue surrounding its operating licence.
Royalties are what happens after the record. The record needs a room first.
At Freedom Skatepark in Accra, Vibrate Space runs as a professional recording studio, creative workspace and cultural platform. It was founded in 2022 as a multidisciplinary creative hub for young creatives, artists and entrepreneurs in Ghana, and it is an initiative of Sandy Alibo, founder of Surf Ghana Collective. Its studio hours are posted for anyone to read: open to the community from 10am to 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays.
In East Legon, Accra, the award-winning Ghanaian DJ Mensah opened Play House Music Studio. MyJoyOnline reports that the launch, held on Sunday May 3, 2026, drew leading figures from Ghana's music industry. Its report on the opening quotes Sarkodie telling Revolve Music: "In my industry we barely have spaces like this to do rehearsals, to create music."
These are two different rooms with two different front doors. One lists community hours on its website. The other opened with a launch for the industry.
One figure holds its place at the bottom of the split: GHS66,780.00 for live performance, across a whole national distribution.
“In my industry we barely have spaces like this to do rehearsals, to create music.”
