By Nyima Sillah
Lamin Keshla Jammeh, Assistant Secretary General of the Gambia Music Union on Thursday called on Gambian artists to join the Gambia Music Union.
Speaking to The Voice Vibes in an interview, he said the Gambia Music Union was established to promote the welfare of artists and give them opportunity to have access to insurance and other benefits that will be useful to them in case they retired from their careers just like other professions.
According to him, so far they have registered 50 artists within the Kanifing Municipal Council but they divided the registration into different regions across the country and the registrations are still ongoing.
He explained that, the payment for individual artist is D500 per year if they want to pay three years they should pay D1500 and for the band is D4500 while added that voice of artist is their vote and if they don’t have membership card, they cannot vote.
“We separated the registrations into different categories because artists aren’t the same they do different types of music so they do their registrations based on the set of artists that are available in the country examples are cultural artist, contemporary, female artist and live band.”
He added that the executive should complement the constitution of the Gambia Music Union. “So we need members to come to the AGM and tell us their opinions regarding our activities past years and tell us their positive and negative opinions. In this regard if they don’t have membership card they can’t go to the AGM and that we cannot know our weaknesses and how to improve on them.”
The Assistant SG went on that recently their main concern is not focus on activities but membership for people to know what the Union is all about. Saying if the artists didn’t register it makes it very difficult for them to partner with each other, therefore, they are doing more sensitization for members to register during this pandemic.
“I want all artists to know that the music industry is not here to damage anyone’s career but more of protecting you and also give assurance. This is type of assurance that when you retire you can have benefit for yourself from somewhere. In between, the music union renders many other supports and the music union is independent but we collaborate with others partners. I therefore urge all artists to come on board and join the union,” he appealed.
