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Ghana’s most iconic musical export may soon get more than applause and nostalgia.
The Musicians Union of Ghana, MUSIGA, is engaging the government over a proposed support system aimed at investing in highlife and ensuring the genre remains a living part of Ghana’s cultural identity for generations to come.
MUSIGA President Bessa Simons disclosed the development during the “Time With The MUSIGA President & Executives” programme held in Accra last Friday.
According to Simons, the union’s leadership is currently in discussions with government officials to develop a framework that would provide meaningful support for highlife music.
The objective goes beyond simply celebrating old records.
For MUSIGA, highlife represents the musical DNA of Ghana, and preserving it requires more than annual tributes, nostalgic playlists and the occasional concert featuring legendary performers.
Under Simons’ leadership, the preservation and promotion of highlife has become a central priority for the union. He has spearheaded efforts involving UNESCO Ghana to secure international recognition for the genre, a campaign that ultimately reached a major milestone.
In December 2025, UNESCO officially inscribed Ghana’s highlife music on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List, giving the genre a significant place on the global cultural map.
MUSIGA has also partnered with the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to establish a permanent archive and museum dedicated to documenting the history and legacy of highlife and its pioneers.
That history is anything but short.
From the pioneering sounds of E.T. Mensah and C.K. Mann to the enduring influence of Daddy Lumba and Amakye Dede, highlife has shaped generations of Ghanaian musicians. Its fingerprints can also be found across newer genres, including hiplife and Afrobeats.
In other words, Ghana’s modern musical kitchen has been cooking with ingredients that highlife helped put on the shelf.
Now, MUSIGA wants the government to help ensure those ingredients do not disappear.
Government investment could provide opportunities to preserve historic recordings, support musicians, document archives, develop educational initiatives and create platforms through which younger generations can understand and continue the highlife tradition.
The bigger challenge, however, will be turning conversations into a sustainable system that actually delivers results.
Highlife has survived decades of musical evolution, changing tastes and the arrival of countless new genres. If MUSIGA gets its way, the next chapter will not simply be about remembering where Ghanaian music came from.
It will be about making sure the sound has somewhere to go next.
