Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation, Jackson Brefo, told Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z that churches are required to pay royalties for any songs used during services. Brefo said the Copyright Act does not single out churches; it treats any public performance of a work as a royalty‑paying event.
“The law is not biased towards any entity. There is no mention of church in the law but it says that a person who intends to use the work of an author or causes the work of an author to be performed in public,” Brefo explained. He added that while a fair‑use clause exists for educational purposes, it does not cover religious use.
When asked about compliance, Brefo noted that orthodox denominations such as the Church of Pentecost, Assemblies of God and Methodist churches are generally compliant, whereas newer charismatic and Pentecostal groups lag behind. He urged gospel artists to encourage churches to meet their obligations, arguing that prompt payments would boost gospel royalty revenue.
GHAMRO has previously warned the Christian community about royalty payments. In July 2017, former Chairman Rex Owusu Marfo (Rex Omar) announced plans to enforce church licensing and billing. The issue resurfaced in March 2020 when Marfo again called for churches to be licensed and billed for copyrighted music used during services.
Section 37(2) of the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) states that an owner of copyright is entitled to collect royalties for live or public performances of their work. GHAMRO, as a collective management organisation, licenses users, collects royalties on behalf of rightsholders and distributes them.
Moving forward, GHAMRO will continue to push for compliance among all church groups, emphasizing that adherence to the law benefits both musicians and the wider gospel music industry.
