Ghana Telcos Still Owe Musicians After Court Ruling on Caller Ring-Back Tones

In March 2021, Justice Jennifer Abena Dadzie of the Accra High Court delivered a decisive verdict: MTN, Vodafone and AirtelTigo must pay royalties for the music embedded in Ghana’s Caller Ring‑Back Tones (CRBTs). The ruling affirmed that the operators are legally bound to compensate both master and mechanical rights holders. Yet, despite the clear mandate, payments remain sporadic or nonexistent, leaving artists and songwriters unpaid.

CRBTs arrived in Ghana in the mid‑2000s as a modest technical tweak that replaced the standard “tring‑tring” ring with a chosen music clip. MTN’s CallerTunez, launched in 2008, made the feature mainstream. Callers could select high‑life, gospel or Afrobeats tracks, turning the waiting period into a personal musical experience. For the local music industry, CRBTs opened a new revenue stream and boosted exposure for Ghanaian songs.

The model is straightforward: a subscriber pays a fee for a chosen tune, and the telco keeps a substantial portion of the revenue. In Ghana, operators typically retain about 70 % of the fee. The remaining 30 % goes to intermediaries or aggregators, who then split it further. Artists and record labels usually receive roughly 15 % before tax, or about 12 % after deductions. While this arrangement provides some income for performers, it leaves a significant gap for the creators of the music.

Under copyright law, using a recording in a commercial setting triggers two royalty streams. Master royalties go to the owner of the sound recording—usually the artist and their label—while mechanical royalties go to the songwriters, composers and publishers. In the CRBT context, the telco is publicly performing the work, so both streams should be paid. However, Ghanaian telcos have not paid mechanical royalties since CRBTs became widespread in 2012.

The Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) first raised the issue in 2012, arguing that songwriters and publishers were being excluded from the revenue chain. After negotiations stalled, GHAMRO pursued legal action. The court’s March 10, 2021 ruling confirmed the telcos’ obligation to pay royalties and awarded GHAMRO GHS 60,000 in legal costs. The decision was a landmark for music rights enforcement in Ghana.

Despite the ruling, enforcement has been weak. Reports from 2024 indicate that payments to artists—and especially to songwriters—remain inconsistent. The telcos continue to collect fees but have not demonstrated a systematic mechanism for distributing royalties to all rights holders. The gap between the court’s mandate and actual practice has eroded trust in the industry.

The discrepancy is striking when viewed internationally. MTN, Vodafone and AirtelTigo operate in other African markets where they comply with standard royalty structures, including mechanical payments. The shortfall appears specific to Ghana, suggesting a regulatory or operational lapse.

For creators, the lack of mechanical royalties undermines the viability of songwriting as a profession. Without fair compensation, fewer writers may pursue music, weakening the creative pipeline that feeds the industry. The issue also casts doubt on the telcos’ public commitments to support local music.

The legal framework exists, and the court has issued a clear judgment. What remains is enforcement. Regulators must ensure that telcos honour the ruling, and industry bodies must continue to advocate for transparent royalty distribution. Until the full royalty chain is closed, the Ghanaian music ecosystem risks further imbalance.

In short, CRBTs have turned ordinary phone calls into a platform for Ghanaian music, but the system that should reward every contributor to that music is incomplete. The court’s decision is a step forward, yet the next step—consistent royalty payments—has yet to be realized.