Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Rights Organization (GHAMRO), Jackson Brefo, has revealed that his outfit does not receive any form of support from the government.

He made this known during an X space discussion on media houses that have failed to honour their obligations when it comes to paying royalties to musicians.

Mr Brefo explained that GHAMRO's core role in public performance is to licence musical works by collecting royalties from radio and TV stations.

He said the government's only role in relation to GHAMRO is that of regulator.

“Government does not do any business with GHAMRO. The only relationship government has with GHAMRO is as a regulator. The government does not support GHAMRO in any way. What we do in the public performance space is license musical works by collecting royalties from radio and TV stations,” he explained.

He clarified that the main reason the organization pays low royalties to some musicians is because of the fluctuating usage of their songs across media platforms, as that contributes to revenue generation.

“More often than not, when you hear that musicians received GH¢100 or GH¢300 from GHAMRO, it’s because royalty generation is not static. Since we collect royalties from TV and radio stations, we can only distribute what we collect. And as a matter of fact, 90 percent of Ghana’s broadcasting networks have deliberately refused to pay,” he added.

Mr Brefo made a shocking revelation regarding the failure of most media houses in the country to honour their obligations when it comes to paying royalties to musicians.

For this, he expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) over its failure to settle an eight-year-old judgment debt owed to the organisation.

Mr Brefo revealed that despite a court ruling requiring GBC to pay royalties for the broadcast of copyrighted music, the state broadcaster has yet to comply.

He explained that the legal battle with GBC ended in a ruling in favour of GHAMRO, but the corporation has refused to honour the court's directive.

"To get GBC to pay the money was a challenge, and the matter had to end up in court, as you mentioned. We were in court with GBC for eight years. And now that we are in 2025, GBC has still not paid the money awarded by the court," he said.

Brefo noted that GBC’s failure to pay the judgment debt, valued at GH¢150,000, has contributed to widespread misconceptions about GHAMRO’s operations and the low royalty payments received by some musicians.

"This has been part of the reason there are so many misconceptions about GHAMRO. I admit GHAMRO is not doing enough communication, but the lack of understanding around collective management organisations is a big issue, not just for artists, but even for radio presenters, journalists, and others within the ecosystem," he added.

He has charged musicians to call media outlets to account when questioning GHAMRO about royalty payments.