The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON, and the
Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria, IBAN, have stopped
airing musical productions belonging to Chief Ebenezer Obey, 2Face
Idibia, Onyeka Onwenu, Banky W and thousands of other members of the
Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON.
In a statement jointly signed by Sonny Adun and Guy Murray Bruce,
IBAN Chairman and Secretary respectively, the two bodies said they were
constrained to take this step principally as “a result of COSON’s
attitude of antagonism and harassment under the leadership of Tony
Okoroji (COSON Chairman)”. “No person or organisation, particularly a
collection society such as COSON has a monopoly of authority over any
other…IBAN and BON have the utmost respect for Nigerian artistes in
their individual and collective capacities and have indeed contributed
more than any known institution to the promotion of Nigerian music and
the development of the entertainment industry as a whole,” the statement
reads.
But in a swift reaction, Okoroji, COSON boss, said his organisation
has read with amusement the empty threat by the leadership of BON that
its affiliate stations would no longer play the music of Nigerian
citizens on Nigerian stations because Nigerian musicians are asking for
their right to be paid copyright royalties for the exploitation of their
music as is done in every country in the world.
He said it is only in a country like Nigeria that this can take place
with some people having no regards for intellectual property. “The
threat by the leadership of BON reveals the crass ignorance with which
some members of BON have been misled and steered into easily avoidable
crisis. For many years, this people have used ‘divide and rule’ tactics
and threats to weaken the music industry and ensure that the industry
did not effectively challenge its exploitation,” Okoroji said.
He stated that it is indeed revealing that IBAN/BON people who
pretend to be leaders of the broadcast industry in Nigeria believe that
they can play music belonging to foreign nationals for free in Nigeria
without any consequence. “For their information, by the reciprocal
representation agreements entered into between COSON and several
collective management organisations around the world and the various
copyright conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, every broadcast
station in Nigeria is bound to pay copyright royalties for foreign music
as it must for the music belonging to Nigerians.
Failure to pay exposes Nigeria to both economic and diplomatic
sanctions,” Okoroji disclosed. He added that COSON has done everything
to engage broadcasting stations in Nigeria to do what is done in every
other country in a very professional manner. “COSON has met with
Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Independent Broadcasting
Association of Nigeria (IBAN), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
and practically every major broadcasting network in Nigeria. While there
are broadcasting stations that have reached agreements with COSON and
are broadcasting music comfortably as required by law, some other
stations have allowed themselves to be deceived by the empty boast of
people who have told them that they can ‘handle’ COSON,” Okoroji added.
But IBAN and BON also said their members are ready and willing to
pay royalties for works used but will not be railroaded into arbitrarily
imposed and concocted fees which are not based on any agreeable and
verifiable tariff and standards. “In the circumstance, we are therefore
taking steps in liaison with important stakeholders in the country to
address and hopefully come to a fair and reasonable resolution of this
COSON induced crises,” IBAN/BON stated. Other artistes who have their
musical productions prohibited on air include Iyanya, Azizat, D’Banj,
Olamide, Dr. SID, Sammy Okposo, Olu Maintain, Sunny Neji, Rugged Man,
Jasman Olofin, X-Project, Asa, African China, Terry G, Waje, Omawumi,
Sound Sultan and J Martins.
PMNEWS learnt Prince Emeka Mba, Director General, National
Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, has waded in. The NBC boss is said
to have called for a negotiated settlement, wondering how the stations
can do away with works of the affected artistes who are the best in
Nigeria and still meet up with requirement of NBC.
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