THE Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called on record label owners in the country to be fair in their contractual obligations and desist from signing upcoming artistes into slavery.
This was stated in the goodwill message of the Director-General, NCC, Dr. John O. Asein, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) held at the Lagos Television (LTV) Events Hall, Lagos on 29th November 2023.
The Director-General urged MCSN to take note of the new provisions in the Copyright Act, 2022, abide by the Copyright (Collective Management) Regulations, 2007 and operate according to global best practices. He assured the organization that so long as collective management organisations operated in line with the law, they would receive the support of the Commission to encourage royalty payments by users.
The Director-General, who was represented by the Director, Lagos Office, Mrs. Lynda Alphaeus, congratulated the Board and Management of MCSN for their resilience, doggedness and hardwork that has caused them to achieve a lot, thus becoming a major player in the copyright industry. He expressed optimism that soon, with increased revenue from royalties, members will earn enough to sustain them for life.
The Director-General members to embark on sustained public enlightenment campaign to educate more musicians and upcoming artistes about the benefits of joining a collective management organisation so as to increase their membership base.
The President of MCSN, Dr. Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, MFR (King Sunny Ade), used the occasion of the AGM to commend the NCC team led by Dr. Asein, for the continuous support and cooperation with MCSN which has enhanced the latter’s position as a vibrant CMO in the music sector with improved packages for members and affiliates across the world.
He called on members to remain focused and tough in defence of their CMO and implored them to join hands with the Board, Management and staff, to propel the organisation forward.
King Sunny Ade, equally informed the AGM about the newly acquired property for MCSN and assured members that construction work would start in earnest to give the organisation a befitting office complex. He called on members to join hands to build MCSN as their own structure and home-grown Institution.
Chioma Ekechukwu.
