This article is part of Women in Music, a four-part series exploring the women working behind the scenes in Ghana’s music industry
Nana Yaa Serwaa Andrea Agyemang is a seasoned music executive, A&R specialist, and talent manager with over six years of experience in the Ghanaian and UK music industries.
A graduate of the University of Ghana, she has established herself as a key curator for influential platforms, including Harmattan Rain, and the Accra chapter of Sofar Sounds.
She’s currently focused on her career as a music content creator.
Here’s our interview with Andrea:
How and why did you jump into the industry role you’re in?
Nana Yaa Serwaa Agyemang: Honestly, I’ve always found myself around music. Even before I realized it could be a career, I was constantly curating playlists and sharing them on my Twitter (X) for people to listen to. I’d talk about music a lot, emphasis on a lot — even when nobody really cared at the time.
Over time, people started recognizing me for that, and I also found myself helping friends who made music in different ways, whether it was giving my two cents on how it sounded or just bumping heads with them on how to market their releases.
But truthfully, I didn’t even know working in music was an actual career path until I randomly stumbled on an article that talked about different careers in the music industry. I was like “damn you all have been getting paid for this and I’m doing it for free?”
It honestly felt like serendipity, like something just clicked.
From that moment, everything started to unfold naturally, all the amazing people, mentors and colleagues I’ve crossed paths with and I began intentionally finding my place in the industry.
What are some of the positive things about Ghana’s music industry?
Nana Yaa Serwaa Agyemang: One thing I really appreciate and love right now about Ghana’s music industry is how community-driven it can be. Even though the industry is still growing, there’s a lot of passion from artistes, producers, DJs, writers, and fans who genuinely want to see Ghanaian music win.
Another positive is that I think more people are beginning to pay attention to Ghanaian music internationally, I’m so sat for all the possibilities yet to unfold. We’re seeing more global collaborations, more opportunities, and more platforms opening up for our artistes, which is really exciting to witness.
“Sometimes we don’t invest enough in long-term artist development, so artists who have potential don’t always get the time or resources to grow into global acts.”
What are some of the negative things about Ghana’s music industry?
Nana Yaa Serwaa Agyemang: Well, one of the biggest challenges, I would say, is the lack of structure. A lot of things still run on relationships instead of clear systems, from distribution to radio play to bookings. It makes it harder for new or independent artists who don’t have strong connections to break through.
Another issue is how quickly we move on from artistes or music trends, as a people we’re quick to shut down growing genres or sub-genres that seem to have potential.
Sometimes we don’t invest enough in long-term artist development, so artists who have potential don’t always get the time or resources to grow into global acts.
What’s one thing you wish to see change in the industry?
Nana Yaa Serwaa Agyemang: I’d really like to see more investment in artist development and infrastructure. Not just signing artists when they’re already hot, but actually helping them build sustainable careers through branding, touring, songwriting, production, and international positioning.
Ghana has so much talent, but the systems around the talent need to grow too.
Who’s your favorite artist (local/international) right now and why?
Nana Yaa Serwaa Agyemang: This is such a hard question because I’m always listening to so many artists. I feel like every other day, I discover someone new that I’m obsessed with.
But lately I’ve been listening to a lot of punk rap. Some of the artists I’ve been playing a lot recently are Paris Texas, Internet Girl, Punching Bag, and Genesis Owusu.
For local music — if we’re talking about Africa — I’ve actually been listening to a lot of Tuareg blues lately, and in Ghana, I recently fell in love all over again with Akan’s album Onipa Akoma. It’s one of those projects that just gets better every time you go back to it.
