New Approach to Selling Music in Ghana

As business becomes more competitive various persons and businesses/ organizations are coming up with innovative means of marketing and selling their products and services.

The music industry in Accra has seen tremendous growth and increased competition this has led to the adoption of a new approach by cassette and compact disc sellers to outwit their competitors and increase sales.

Their approach involves going out onto the streets to interact with members of the public with a view to convincing them to buy. Of late it is common for one to see young men accompanied by a truck fitted with a ‘Public Address System’ (PAX) who approach members of the public engaging in direct selling.

As songs are played over the PAX, the young men dance to the songs and move from person to person trying to convince them to buy the music on either Compact Disks (CDs) or cassettes.

Besides generating sales for the artistes this strategy serves as a means of income for the young men who would otherwise be unemployed. “I sell about forty cassettes and CDs in a day and make two thousand cedis (about 20 cents) on each of them,” disclosed Kwesi, a young boy in his late teens.

Kwesi sticks with this job because it pays more than many others he can obtain in Accra. “It is tedious and demands a lot of sacrifice but I prefer it to other jobs which don’t pay as much,” he disclosed. Kwesi has completed secondary school and is awaiting entry into a higher institution. “While waiting to further my education I am using this opportunity to make a little money to support myself.”

This sales tactic the youngsters have adopted has given rise to complaints about noise pollution but such issues have been overridden by the fact that the truck is not stationary nor is the volume of the music played sustained at a particular level for long.

It is a spectacle to see these young men striving to market their merchandise as they move from person to person. It may not be the best of jobs but it serves as a means of earning a living for these young men, many of whom may have ended up a burden to their relatives.

Some may not agree with this type of selling but they cannot stop these young energetic men from earning a living through this new sales approach.