Many Ghanaian artists have ignored the topic of music publishing, or should I say they had no idea it exists? Either way, artists in Ghana, especially the young ones, have no idea what this is all about.
There is little to no education on this, and I will blame the masterminds running the music business in Ghana, especially the Performing Rights Organization. I say this because publishers work hand in hand with them, and it’s only fair they share this side of music with artists
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Now, music publishing is a complicated topic but, one doesn’t need to know the inside out of the whole thing. The important thing is knowing how it helps you as an artist to collect royalties on all your songs no matter where it’s played or used commercially.
How the publisher monitors your songs and collects your royalties shouldn’t be your headache. Your concern is understanding what original content means and how many rights you have to your song.
Last but not least, anyone that participated in making that piece of music must have some amount of publishing rights unless written otherwise in a recording contract or split-sheet.
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In a nutshell, music publishing means giving a Publisher the rights or power to monitor your songs exclusively and collect all types of royalties on your behalf. I will write about the type of royalties artists are entitled to in another article soon.
To do this, you have to be the original copyright holder of the song or owns a part of the copyright percentage.
Most Publishing contracts are exclusive, and by exclusive, it simply means only one publisher or publishing company has the right to collect all royalties across the universe on your behalf. In certain cases, there are non-exclusive publishing deals, but it’s not very common.
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One of the advantages of having a publisher is the peace of mind to make music instead of chasing and monitoring your songs yourself. Secondly, publishers can pitch your songs to moviemakers, advertisers, and all sorts of places for Sync placements. (I will explain Synchronization in another article as well.
Getting a publisher is very easy these days. Distribution platforms like Beatstars (also a beat store), CD Baby, Ditto Music, and others have music publishing integrated into their platform. This way, you distribute your music and get it on publishing on one platform.
To conclude, all artists need to have a publishing deal to enjoy maximum royalty collection across the universe.
Ghanaian musician Emperor T-Jiga has added another major international honour to his career after winning Best Diaspora Afrobeat Artist of the Year at the 2026 Ghana Music Awards Europe in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The recognition comes after years of creating music that blends Afrobeat, highlife, hiplife, hip hop and other African musical influences while connecting audiences in Ghana and the diaspora.
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For Emperor T-Jiga, the award is a reflection of a musical journey that has produced a catalogue of songs including Kilode, Yeloi, Sugar, Super Star, Pretty Jeniki, Saka Saka and Fine Fine Lady. His music has continued to showcase his versatility as a singer, songwriter, performer, drummer, producer and teaching artist.
One of the records that has played an important role in his recent recognition is Super Star, featuring Bepor Keddi and Cabrinny Gh. The song previously earned Emperor T-Jiga the Hiplife and Hip Hop Song of the Year award at the 2025 Ghana Music Awards USA, giving him another major milestone within the Ghanaian diaspora music community.
His catalogue, however, extends beyond Super Star.
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Kilode, featuring Young Freezy, became another important record in his career and won Best International Collaboration at the 2022 Ghana Music Awards USA. The song also received a nomination for US Based Afropop Song of the Year.
Yeloi, featuring Kotey Another and Nii Funny, further demonstrated his ability to work across different sounds and collaborators. The song was nominated for Best Music Video of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards USA.
In 2023, Emperor T-Jiga released Sugar, a record influenced by the sounds of African music pioneers including Osibisa and Fela Kuti. The song was subsequently nominated for Afropop/Afrobeat Song of the Year at the 2024 Ghana Music Awards USA.
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His more recent work has continued to expand his musical identity. Awula Feefeo has been featured among his recent releases, while his official YouTube catalogue also includes Fine Fine Lady.
Beyond his recordings, Emperor T-Jiga’s musical background gives further context to his sound. He is also an accomplished drummer, dancer, producer and music educator, with a career that has involved African music and cultural education in the United States. His work with the Akwaaba Ensemble has also allowed him to combine performance, education and cultural preservation.
That combination of musicianship and cultural identity has become an important part of Emperor T-Jiga’s artistic journey. His music does not simply seek to entertain but also draws from African rhythms, experiences and influences while presenting them to audiences in the diaspora.
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His latest achievement in Düsseldorf therefore represents another step in a career that has consistently crossed geographical and musical boundaries.
Winning Best Diaspora Afrobeat Artist of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards Europe places Emperor T-Jiga among the artistes helping to carry Ghanaian music and African sounds into international spaces.
As the celebrations continue, the award adds another significant chapter to his story and provides further momentum for an artiste whose music, performances and cultural work continue to reach audiences beyond Ghana.