For some days now, various Ghanaian artistes including Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale and in the distant past, others such as Sarkodie, have suggested that Ghanaian bloggers/online journalists should promote their works or write about them for free.
Not only is the above offensively ignorant, it also tells a lot about how these uneducated folks, see these writers.
It is apparent that a lot of those we call celebrities do not respect Ghanaian bloggers/online journalists and this is because of how these bloggers/journalists carry themselves and even beg for absurd low-level associations/friendships.
Almost all Ghanaian bloggers/online journalists carry themselves as if they are some contemporary vagrants—their desperation comes off like they are extensively hungry.
And to be frank, a lot of these bloggers/journalists are jokers. They cannot write, have failed to educate themselves and therefore are beyond broke.
Why would any artist suggest that you do some form of work, for them for free? Don’t they charge to perform? Then again, because they don’t respect you, they want you to work for them, for free.
When you ask me to write any piece for you or about you, I do not charge less than 500 dollars—if it’s anything below that, I would pawn it off to one of my writers with a less hourly rate.
And everyone who comes to me knows this. If you can’t pay, go and write it yourself and publish it yourself—this is not a fight.
If you spend over 7 years educating yourself at various higher education institutions abroad and have 2 master’s degrees to your name, and you would come out to work for free, for someone like Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale or any of these people, then not only are you a fool but also insane.
If you are not making money from any work, don’t waste your time.
Somewhere last year, Jackie Appiah brought me a gig which took a few hours and she made sure I was paid 12,000 GHS for it.
When Bola Ray asks me to work on anything as a writer, my bank account ends up smiling with at least 500 dollars. And he refers several of such works each month to me.
These are the people who appreciate your value, your time, your writings and your education. And therefore, when they are your friends, they do not take your worth for granted.
A lot of Ghanaians take the time and expertise of others for granted.
The standard London hourly rate which applies to legal practitioners like me is £120 per hour. So why would I leave a work that will fetch me this money, to write on Efia Odo or Akwapim Poloo if I wouldn’t be paid more or equal to this, per hour?
Several of these Ghanaian bloggers/online journalists have nothing better doing with their time and lives. Perhaps, these celebrities think they are useless—and that explains why they expect them to give their time for free.