Director-General Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr John Asein has described copyright as the oil that makes the creation, distribution and exploitation of music frictionless and sustainable. He said copyright guarantees the necessary inflow that makes it worth the while on a scale that makes impact.
“Culture and music are intertwined. While music is one of the vehicles for the dissemination of culture, it is also an expression and an integral part of the culture of any people. Like our art, literature audiovisual works, Nigeria has excelled in the use of this cultural resource to express itself to the world and stamp the richness of its culture on the international stage,” he said.
Dr Asein spoke at a conference held as part of the side events lined up for the Vis A Vis Music Festival organised by the Embassy of Spain, in Lagos, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), in collaboration with the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and Music Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN). The roundtable was held at the Nigerian Music House, in Chevron Lekki, Lagos, at the weekend with the theme Maximising the International Dimension of Music as a Vehicle of Culture.
The objectives of the gathering, which featured speakers drawn from music and tourism experts in Nigeria and Spain, included to identify and draw attention to the issues militating against delivery of optimal value addition by the Nigerian music industry, proffer practicable solutions to optimise the performance of the industry, provide a platform for practitioners in the Nigerian music sector to share experience with subject matter experts from Spain and exchange ideas on existing and future collaborations.
While calling on stakeholders, partners and lovers of music to support the sustainable growth of the industry, Dr. Asein said he believed strongly that the future is good for the music industry.
“I again call on stakeholders, partners and lovers of music to support the sustainable growth of the music industry join hands with the Nigerian Copyright Commission as we introduce necessary regulatory frameworks and initiatives to address all forms of copyright infringement and abuse, particularly in the online environment.
He used the occasion to formally inform the gathering that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the Copyright Bill, 2022. According to him, the new Act provides for the protection of copyright and neighbouring rights, prescribes appropriate exceptions and improves the effective administration, regulation and enforcement of copyright in the digital environment in Nigeria.’ This, he said, is a clear testimony of the commitment of this administration to galvanise Nigeria’s creative economy towards enabling it to become more globally competitive in the digital age.
“The new Act is the first major overhaul of the nation’s copyright system in over three decades and the first intellectual property legislation to be passed under a democratic regime in Nigeria. Essentially, the new Act among others, expands the rights of music authors, raises the sanctions for criminal infringements of musical works, criminalises circumvention of technological protection measures, domesticates all international treaty obligations Nigeria is signatory, and more adequately addresses the challenges posed by digital and online use of musical works.
“With the new law, the Commission is poised to frontally confront online piracy, facilitate equitable exploitation and distribution of music in the digital environment in a manner that benefit music authors and our economy. Already, the Commission has established a Unit dedicated to investigation of online copyright piracy and is working to upscale the skills of officers manning the Unit,” he added.
Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Juan Ignacio Sell said the objectives of the Vis A Vis Music Festival include, to help internationalised the African music, to offer young Nigerian professional musicians professional exposures and contacts with festival organisers in Spain, exchange ideas with Nigerian musicians and foster collaborations. The Ambassador assured that Spain Embassy in Lagos is ready to support any initiative that comes out of this collaboration.
PMAN President Mr. Pretty Okafor called for improved collecting management system and effective synergy between stakeholders in order to monetise the abundant talents in the industry. According to him, the big task is how to generate the relevant structures and strategies to monitor collection, improve the collecting system to achieve economic goals.
For CEO MCSN, Mr. Mayo Ayilaran, the relationship between music and culture must be maximised as music carries with it to the global scene many aspects of Nigerian culture. He said Nigerian food, dress, and hair style are some of our cultures music takes across the globe.
Other speakers included Director, SGAE, Mr. Vincente Sanchis, representative of Sin Sal Festival Mr. Julio Gomez, representative of Nigerian Tourism Development Authority Mrs. Funebi Umondak and Mr. Mike Akpan of Nigerian Copyright Commission.
https://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-spain-push-for-rewarding-music-industry/
