Ghanaian musicians are looking beyond streaming platforms for sustainable international careers, after Apprise Music & Media presented Ghanaian artists to global booking agents, festival organisers and music-industry professionals at WOMEX 2026 in Spain.
The Ghanaian delegation attended the Worldwide Music Expo in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from October 21 to 25, using the platform to promote artists including Epixode, Abiana, Yinewin, King Nzema, King Eazie, Ayizam and Rama Black.
The development highlights a growing challenge for African musicians: global streaming exposure does not automatically translate into paid live performances, international touring or long-term financial stability.
What happened at WOMEX
WOMEX is an international music conference and trade fair that brings together festival programmers, booking agents, promoters, labels, publishers, cultural institutions and performing artists. The 2026 edition took place at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, from October 21 to 25.
Apprise Music was represented by founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Kwabena Bamfo and Chief Operating Officer and Head of Publishing Grace Nyele Mensah. The delegation presented Ghanaian music projects and promotional materials to international industry professionals.
The artists represented a range of Ghanaian sounds, including reggae, dancehall, highlife, Afro-fusion and music rooted in local languages and traditional influences.
Apprise Music also held discussions with a representative of the Recording Academy, the organisation behind the Grammy Awards, and a vice-president of The Orchard, the music distribution and artist-services company owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Why touring matters
Streaming has made African music more accessible to global audiences, but it does not automatically provide artists with a sustainable income. Live performances, festival bookings, publishing, licensing and international partnerships remain important parts of a musician’s long-term business.
For Ghanaian artists, the challenge is not a lack of talent or online visibility. The greater obstacle is access to the structures that turn visibility into opportunities: international booking agents, touring representatives, festival circuits, rights administrators and cultural institutions.
WOMEX gave Apprise Music direct access to those decision-makers. The delegation discussed international market access, artist development, live performance opportunities, music-rights administration and cross-border cultural projects.
A global industry platform
WOMEX is one of the most important international networking platforms for the global music industry. Its 2025 edition brought together 2,040 music professionals from more than 100 countries, including 281 performing artists, 720 event promoters, 338 labels, publishers and distributors, and 411 individual booking agents.
The event also hosted 60 showcase acts featuring 281 musicians across seven stages, alongside 407 exhibiting companies from 41 countries.
For Ghanaian artists, that scale matters. A single conversation with a festival programmer or booking agent can lead to an international showcase, a tour booking or a long-term professional relationship.
More than music export
The initiative also has a cultural dimension. Apprise Music’s participation highlighted Ghana’s musical heritage, including Highlife, indigenous percussion, regional folk traditions and local-language composition.
That matters because African music is not only competing globally through Afrobeats, amapiano or drill. Traditional and roots-based sounds can also reach international audiences through festivals, cultural exchanges and specialised booking networks.
Apprise Music, founded in Ghana in 2018, operates in digital distribution, publishing administration, rights management and music-business education. After WOMEX, the company said it would continue discussions with contacts made at the event and explore future showcases, touring arrangements, education and cultural-exchange programmes.
