Merqury Republic, organizers of the annual Ghana DJ Awards Festival, christened Africa’s biggest DJ Event, have organized the 3rd edition of the Ghana DJ Clinic.
The event took place at the Accra Tourist Information Center and Gold Coast Restaurant on Saturday, October 15. The Ghana DJ Clinic, which is a free seminar and workshop, is designed to educate, empower and build the connection of incoming and professional DJs, music producers, musicians and other creatives in Ghana.
Since its inception in 2019, the Ghana DJ Clinic has successfully impacted the lives of over 500 creatives across the country, and always sets the tone for the main Ghana DJ Awards event. The latter is scheduled for November 5, 2022 at the Silver Star Tower in Accra.
As part of its “Year of Books” campaign, the Ghana Library Authority partnered with this year’s seminar edition to encourage reading amongst creatives. To begin the session was the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Ghana Library Authority, Mr Edward Addo-Yobo, who spoke on the concept of entrepreneurship. According to him, “DJing is an entrepreneurship venture which requires constant knowledge acquisition through reading”.
He, therefore, used the platform to encourage DJs and other creatives to make reading a habit, as it would go a long way to help them uncover more opportunities.
Marketing Manager of international spirits and ready-to-drink brands at Guinness Ghana, Nana Yaa Amoah-Owusu, took her turn and spoke about ‘how to attract top brands as a DJ’. The marketing expert disclosed that attracting top brands as a DJ is facilitated by how one progressively brands their craft. She explained that DJs must put in great effort to rise above the usual short-time hype.
“You want to be a timeless DJ. A DJ people cannot write the history of Ghana DJs without you”, Nana Yaa added.
The Clinic’s theme, “Reimagine Your Career”, was reiterated by founder of 3 Music Networks, Sadiq Abdulai Abu, who spoke about the power of collaboration.
Additionally, Broadcaster and Tech Consultant, Kobby Spiky Nkrumah, took participants through the power of social media and how DJs can leverage it to promote their works beyond borders. He also spoke about the introduction of artificial intelligence and the need for DJs to take advantage of new technologies.
Other significant topics discussed include ‘when the fans go, will the money stay’, a discussion about preparing for retirement as a creative and the need to be intentional about financial literacy, such as pension. It was an eye-opening discussion, particularly as the DJs Union of Ghana have introduced a pension scheme for DJs.
The Clinic’s workshop session, which exposed participants to the technical part of DJing was handled by award winning DJ Master Que. The session helped participants uncover new variations in the software, application as well as scratching. The workshop was a fulfilling moment for both professional and incoming DJs who learnt new skills and effective ways to use equipment for maximum output, as well as understand the science behind timing as a DJ.
At the end of the session, participants were directed to have a quick read inside and around the mobile library provided by the Ghana Library Authority to encourage reading.
A part of the Ghana DJ Awards Festival, the Ghana DJ Clinic, was organized by Merqury Republic and powered by Joy Entertainment. Event partners were the Ghana Library Authority, Virtual Sound Lab, Music In Africa, Hyperlink Africa and Daniel Agyekum Photography.
