They Used to Sell My Own Music to Me on CDs — Ben Brako Recalls Ghana’s Piracy Crisis

Veteran highlife musician Ben Brako has recalled the shocking experience of street vendors attempting to sell pirated copies of his own music back to him, describing it as evidence of Ghana’s long-standing failure to protect musicians’ rights.

Speaking with Kafui Dey, Brako said music piracy flourished because copyright laws were poorly enforced.

“People used to come and sell my own music to me.”

He said the vendors knew exactly who he was but insisted they were actually helping to make him popular.

“They would say, ‘I’m helping you. I’m making you popular.’”

Brako revealed that bootleggers even redesigned the album covers before selling the pirated versions.

“I had copies of what they produced — different cover, everything.”

The musician said he took some of the pirates to court but eventually abandoned the case because of repeated delays.

“It was postponed for a year or something, and I just couldn’t sit there when I had other engagements.”

According to him, Ghana’s legal system failed to provide effective protection for musicians.

“The system would not do anything to help me. I had to go through the court system, and it’s a whole halla-ballu thing.”

Brako argued that piracy remains a symptom of broader institutional weaknesses affecting Ghana’s creative industry.

“The music rights people don’t have the proper influence on governance to enact the rights laws and enforce them.”

He added that he still sees pirated music openly sold on the streets.

“I still see people selling bootleg music in traffic.”