Tag: COSON

BROADCASTING Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has banned songs by some Nigerian musicians from airplay, in protest of what it called arbitrary levying of broadcast stations by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), government’s licensed collecting society.

The musicians, who constitute about 70 per cent of old and contemporary Nigerian artistes, were identified as members, whose intellectual property rights rest with COSON, and for which the society has been hunting down users of such works, who have refused to pay royalty.

Musicians affected by the ban include TuFace Idibia, D’ Banj, Inyanya Mbuk, Olamide, Dr Sid, Sammie Okposo, Banky W, Wizkid, Olu Maintain, 9ice, Sunny Neji, Flavour, Chidinma, Rugged Man, Keffee, Midnite Crew, Eldee De Don, M I, Azeezat, Jazzman Olofin, Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz, KC Presh, X Project, Asha, Konga and African China.

Others are Owen Gee, Dekunle Fuji, Lord of Ajasa, Zoolezoo, Muma Gee, ID Cabassa, Klever J, Terry G, Nomoreloss, Mike Okri, Weird MC, Mode 9, Timaya, Sound Sultan, Waje, Mo’Cheddah, Jay Martins, Slam, Djinee, Solid Star, Omawunmi, Yinka Ayefele, Ebenezer Obey, Victor Uwaifo, Onyeka Onwenu, Dan Maraya Jos, Stella Monye, MajekFashek, Daniel Wilson, Alex Zitto, Sir Shina Peters, Ras Kimono, Wale Thompson, Kollington Ayinla, Adewale Ayuba, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal and Tim Godfrey among others.

BON took the decision to ban the works of these musicians in collaboration with the Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN). The resolution by the two bodies yesterday, according to IBAN Secretary, Mr. Guy Murray Bruce, takes immediate effect.

COSON had taken several broadcast stations, hotels and other institutional users of musical works to court, and is known to have negotiated payment with many, including DStv, Silverbird and Cool FM among others. The face off heightened after DAAR Communication and a few others were hit with litigation for similar claim. BON had risen to the incident, challenging the modality of payment, which it described as arbitrary and seeking an alternative royalty collecting society, as a way of breaking the perceived COSON monopoly.

COSON Chairman Chief Tony Okoroji said he felt like weeping, adding that it is only in Nigeria that this can take place, stating that the only sin COSON has committed was going to court to compel broadcasting stations to pay royalties for use of music. He noted with regret that there is a common attitudinal disregard for intellectual property right in the country.

Members of the music and film industries showed great concern over the issue at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, on Tuesday, at an entertainment forum. Many were shocked at how realistic it would be to outlaw such long list of popular musicians from the airwaves.

Notable filmmaker and marketer Chief Gabriel Okoye aka Gabosky described the situation as a slap on creativity, adding that the war is not only COSON’s but for all, and promised to mobilise with COSON to confront BON on the issue.

BON’s Director-General Mr. Emeka Mba, however, called for anamicable settlement.

Mba told The Nation: “Both sides need to come to a negotiated and final settlement. The NBC has already informed both parties that it will intervene by inviting them to a meeting with the Nigerian Copyright Commission.”

Industry commentators have wondered how the stations would meet their local content obligations with the long list of Nigerian artistes affected by the ban.

They said such a situation was of serious concern to the NBC.  Article 3.13.2.2 of the Broadcast code issued by NBC says: ‘For the purpose of free-to-air broadcast, Nigerian music shall constitute 80 per cent of all music broadcast’.

Okoroji described the development as the first in human history when the top artistes of any nation are said to be banned from the airwaves. He insisted that if the sad action was to blackmail COSON for taking some broadcast stations, who believe that they are above the law to court for copyright infringement, he was willing to lay down his life in the defence of the rights of creative people.

THE recent decision of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) on the issue of abuse of monopoly position of the approved sole collecting society for the Nigerian music industry is an issue that should be carefully digested and appreciated by every Nigerian artiste and whoever has any interest in the industry.

I have read and heard many commentaries on both side of the divide, most of which were emotional and play on the psyche of our artistes who are usually at the receiving ends of such actions as represented by COSON and decision as made by BON not to play Nigerian music under COSON’s control.

As an industry player and a business man, I need no expert to educate me on the benefits or otherwise of a monopolistic situation as we have in COSON, which BON is resisting. Likewise do I need no one to fool me that COSON’s claim to control the entire music used in Nigeria is total. I know as a fact that very many musicians whose music are popular and are daily used by members of BON are members of the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN), vis-à-vis the society’s control of a very large repertoire of foreign music both which can sustain BON’s members’ broadcast operations. Furthermore, I know of very many musicians who are neither members of COSON nor MCSN and yet have huge repertoire of music being broadcast daily by members of BON.

What we have presently in our hands is the dictum that what goes round comes round. I recall a disclosure made recently at a forum that way back in 1988, the same BON headed then by the late Alhaji Dahiru Modibo, the then Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), was at an advanced stage of negotiations with the MCSN for the payment of royalties, which Chief Tony Okoroji, as the then President of PMAN thwarted and went ahead to cause people like Chief Ebenezer Obey, Sir Victor Uwaifo, the late Sony Okosun among others, to write disclaimers of belonging to MCSN or any society for that matter, in order to avoid their music being blacklisted by the broadcasters. Some of these same people are now in the leadership of COSON and are now being visited with the same scenario which they were tricked to avoid in 1988!

The central message of BON’s decision is that the monopoly position being enjoyed by COSON is being abused and government should do something about it, otherwise they will look elsewhere for their music. The question any discerning mind should therefore ask is why should there be a monopoly in an environment in which the government has liberalised every activity ranging from broadcasting to communication, banking to airline and even petroleum to electricity? For those defending COSON’s monopoly, the same arguments which justified monopoly in the newspaper, broadcasting and telecommunications industries during the military era are still being advanced to justify COSON’s monopoly in 2013 under civilian democracy! To the Nigerian musicians, the question they should ordinarily ask themselves is what is government’s interest in forcing COSON down their throats as the sole collecting society against the constitutional provisions guaranteeing their freedom of association? If government wanted a monopoly in that sector why not establish a government company or parastatals? Why making a monopoly out of a private company owned or formed by Chief Tony Okoroji and a few of his friends? Most importantly, if COSON fails to deliver on services, where does the average Nigerian musician turn to for quality or comparative services?

COSON always makes sweeping claim over control of music repertoire in Nigeria. This is far from the truth. Kennis Music, Westside Music, Stingomania Music, and a host of their artistes vis-à-vis their music are not under COSON. MCSN still claims control of a huge repertoire of music both local and foreign which is being used by BON members. There are equally large numbers of Nigerian musicians who are neither members of MCSN nor COSON. All of these make BON’s threat or decision not to play Nigerian music under COSON’s control (COSON’s music) very potent and therefore not to be wished away as empty threat. BON was very specific about music under COSON not Nigerian music in general.

There are also pending series of court cases involving the non-approval of MCSN, approval of COSON, payment and collection of royalties by COSON. Without fully resolving these cases, the issue of royalty collection will remain far from being settled, as only an ignorant person or a fool would choose to deal in a property which is under litigation…

They say CMO is not a business, so what “business” do they have fighting so much to control even those who are NOT in their fold. Haba!

PRS (London) agreement is a child of circumstance as same was mentioned by the NCC as the reason for not licensing MCSN (that PRS is a foreign body in MCSN and against “The National Interest”). So how come COSON says they now have PRS and drinking Champaign over it. There is more that meets the eyes and as such that agreement cannot be relied upon because if the situation changes PRS will port again.

SAMRO (South Africa). Nelson Mandela fought Against Apatite and yet SAMRO thinks that Slavery should continue in Nigeria as one would wonder the sense in their signing an agreement with COSON when the MCSN has been in the struggle to protect their Composers Rights here in Nigeria against this clear breech of the Fundamental Rights of ALL Artiste. I wonder if they remember where they are coming from. What a shame! One can only imagine how sad Mandela would be to see that some set of people cannot still stand for JUSTICE AND EQUITY.

Let it be on record that with all the royalties collected by COSON in the last three years, not a kobo payment has been received by us at Westside Music to date as royalty. I met with Chief Tony Okoroji and his General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, at an NCC event a few weeks ago; they said unless I join COSON there is no royalty for me, even when they have collected monies on the use of my music. This is what we are getting with COSON’s monopoly in addition to other forms of blackmail.

It is now very clear from the above that COSON can NEVER satisfy the generality of Musicians alike in Nigeria, as it is practically impossible to force any human being to belong to it. Copyright Right is a Private Property just as a landed Property; we all have the fundamental right to choose where we want to be and who should be our care taker certainly not COSON.

The challenge before Nigerian artistes and the government, particularly the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation today is to liberalise the industry; allow more societies to operate in the musical field and see if BON members will not pay for the music they use, whether COSON, MCSN or any other person’s music.

Denial of justice to one party in the whole royalty collection saga should be addressed first, and every other thing will fall into place.

—Solomon Arueya is Chairman/Chief Executive of Westside Music Inc.

MBROILED in a war of words with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) over the latter’s claim that it is arbitrary in its approach at collecting royalty, the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON)  has initiated a legal proceedings against Cross River State on its use of music at the annual Calabar Carnival.

In a statement, COSON said it has sued the Cross River Carnival Commission, the governor and Attorney-General for N5 billion at the Federal High Court, seeking, among others, an injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies or servants from the unauthorised copying, communication to the public, broadcast and infringement of the copyright in the musical works and sound recordings of the members, affiliates, assignors and licensors of COSON.

The suit, filed for COSON by Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer Justin Ige, claims that the events organised everyDecember by the Carnival Commission have been using musical works and sound recordings of members, affiliates, assignors and licensors of the plaintiff without paying money to the society.

COSON indicated it has requested repeatedly that the defendants should obtain appropriate licenses and pay the requisite royalties for the musical works and sound recordings of members, affiliates, assignors and licensors of COSON.

According to its General Manager, Chinedu Chukwuji, it is unfortunate that they are engaging the state and its agents in litigation.

“I know how much we have tried to avoid this matter getting to this point. I know how hard we have tried to engage the officials of the state government to find an amicable answer. I know the personal efforts made by our Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, who has several friends within the state government apparatus. The problem is that in this day and age, many supposedly educated Nigerians still do not take intellectual property matters serious. They think that people’s intellectual property can be freely used anyhow and anywhere they want until the matter results into a big court action costing millions…”

Only last month, COSON filed a N10 billion copyright infringement action on DAAR Communications Plc, owners of Ray Power FM, Faaji FM and Africa Independent Television (AIT) for a similar issue. The case, among others is still pending in court.