Creative work must have a price

Filmmaker and creative industry critic Socrate Safo has called for an immediate shift away from free access models in Ghana’s creative sector, arguing that the persistent erosion of pricing discipline is weakening the entire market.

According to Safo, the industry’s central problem is no longer a lack of ideas or diagnosis, but a failure to take decisive corrective action.

“The problems are known. The patterns are visible. What remains is action, backed by law, discipline, and collective restraint,” he stated in social media post sighted by MyNewsGh.

Safo argued that free distribution, once an exception, has become the foundation of the creative economy, with damaging consequences for artists, promoters, and investors.

“Creative work has a price,” he said. “Free distribution must return to its rightful place as an exception, not the foundation of the market.”

He criticised the growing practice of hosting concerts, film premieres, and major creative events without paid entry simply because sponsorship has been secured.

“Sponsorship was never meant to erase value,” Safo noted. “It was meant to support it.”

He maintained that even a modest ticket fee reinforces the idea that creative labour carries economic worth and trains audiences to participate in sustaining the industry.

“Without this discipline, the industry continues to train its audience out of the habit of supporting it,” he added.