Ghanaian-South African Lawyer Adwoa Ankoma on organized advocacy and legal consulting in the creative space

Every now and then, there are reported stories of artistes complaining about their creativity being stifled because of contracts they signed.

To forestall the risks sometimes associated with signing a label, publishing or management deal, Adwoa Ankoma, a Ghanaian-South African entertainment lawyer and policy expert is urging artistes to make it a habit to consult a lawyer at the beginning of their careers to review contracts, anticipate various possible outcomes, and make sure said artiste is protected.

“I would advise that from the beginning, artistes get in the habit of hiring a lawyer. One who regularly works in the entertainment or creative industries to review their agreements before they sign them. It may be that, at the beginning of your career, you will have to make concessions in order to have the benefit of a good recording, publishing and management deal,” explained Ankoma to Graphic Showbiz.

“It may be that you will renegotiate for a better deal once your value as an artist has been proven. It is important to have a lawyer at least tell you what you are conceding to, for how long and when you will be able to renegotiate terms. Once you accept consulting a lawyer as a cost of every deal you make just like taxes then you place your career on a winning track.”

A holder of a Master of Laws (LLM) in Entertainment, Media, Sports and Tech from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a LLB and Bsc from Rhodes University, South Africa, Ankomah has worked in legal, public policy regulation and compliance roles since 2014.

She encouraged artistes to engage lawyers who specialize in creative and entertainment industries because they “will know about laws and market practices applicable” that artistes probably don’t know about.

Artistes get to choose from options including a percentage fee of the value of a contract, a retainer or an hourly rate.

The lawyer will constantly be on the lookout for risks whilst anticipating how to mitigate said risks, and also use their knowledge about how courts have dealt with similar contract disputes to protect the artiste.

“With every contract, agreement, transaction, having a lawyer with the right knowledge on your side will better inform your business strategy. Once you accept using a lawyer as a cost of business, same as insurance or accounting, there can be no question about the value of legal service,” added the founder of Creatives Represented, an agency providing legal and policy consultancy services to stakeholders in the African entertainment and creative industries.

Ankoma has worked with organizations including The National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of South African Department of Arts and Culture as a legal, policy and compliance officer, Norton Rose Fulbright and Arterial Network South Africa as its Deputy Chairperson.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the plans and livelihoods of many performers principally because of the ban on social gathering in the past two months.

This has led to a surge in calls by stakeholders in the Ghanaian entertainment industry for the government to implement policies that would ensure performers are able to benefit off their craft even when they are not actively working.

Ankoma told Graphic Showbiz that the calls are unlikely to make the desired impact if stakeholders are not properly organized as a community to advocate for what is needed.

She reiterated the role of the government as the administrator facilitating the will of the creative arts community but cannot anticipate their needs. A certain level of being proactive is therefore required from the industry to ensure its growth.

“People who work in the creative and entertainment industries need to wear the other hat. Engage in discussions about legal and policy issues affecting them. Be a part of the solution. Organize yourselves so that you are advocating for clear changes. The people and government are meant to be partners so we need to create a culture of advocacy. That is when you will see the government’s ability to be effective, when it is led by the needs of the industry it is serving,” underscored Ankoma.

“Artistes need to see themselves as a community and that community needs to engage government collectively. Create industry bodies that have a large and robust participation from the sector, and have those bodies advocate for your position. Hire a lawyer to help you understand what you should be advocating for. That’s how Hollywood has gotten ahead all these years. Advocacy. Then it is for the government to provide assistance, to facilitate.”

Versions of this appeared in the Daily Graphic newspaper on May 30, 2020 and Graphic Showbiz newspaper on June 4, 2020

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