Entertainment
Nigerian Music Industry In Limbo … As COSON, MCSN Battle On
The long battle between Copyright Society Of Nigeria (COSON) and Music Copyright Society Of Nigeria (MCSN) as to who is legally responsible to act as a collective management organisation/collective society (CMO) or simply put collect royalties on behalf of artistes rages on.
Recently, MCSN issued a release which was made available to the media that they have been empowered by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to be the sole CMO for the Nigerian Music Industry (NMI).
In a bid in putting a tie to the subtle campaign in certain quarters and affirming the progressive direction and development of the collective administration of copyright in Nigeria, the NCC has granted to the Musical Copyright Society Of Nigeria Led/GLC (MCSN) the renewal of its approval license.
Its approval or license to continue to operate as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) in accordance with the provisions of the copyright Act, Cap c.28 Laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 and the copyright (Collective Management Organisation) Regulations, 2007.
“The renewal of MCSN’s approval to continue to operate as CMO or collecting society for musical works and sound recordings was conveyed by a letter dated 22nd December, 2020 from the NCC”, the release reads in part.
The release also declares that COSON’s approval to operate as CMO has been suspended since 2018 and thus has no legal standing to operate in the capacity of a CMO. But in a counter move, COSON also released a statement of their own, warning the general public not to seek any license for the use of any musical works or sound recordings in the repertoire of COSON from MCSN.
The statement issued by COSON’s General Counsel, Ms Simi Wash-Pam reads in part:” the recently announced so called renewal of approval of MCSN by the NCC led by Mr John Asein is of little significance. This is so because the maneuvering still cannot permit MCSN to legally license musical works or sound recordings not owned by it or which have not been placed in its repertoire by lawful proprietary assignments or by means of any reciprocal representative agreements lawfully entered.
Ms Wash-Pam also emphasised that under no circumstances is MCSN or any of its agents legally authorised to represent COSON or any of the thousands of members COSON or lawfully license the use of any of the millions of musical works and sound recordings in the repertoire of COSON as non of the works whether here or international are intellectual property belonging to individual has been assigned to MCSN.
Wash-pam was equally emphatic that not even the Nigerian copyright commission has the power under any law known in Nigeria to authorise MCSNvor anyone else to license the musical works and sound recordings lawfully assigned to COSON or placed in the COSON repertoire by means of any reciprocal representation agreement.
From the foregoing, it does appear the Nigerian music industry maybe in a limbo as both COSON and NCSN have artistes registered with them separately. Representation by the CMO requires that artiste is registered with a CMO, thus granting the CMO powers to act on its behalf they operate using a fee schedule, for instance blanket licenses which allows user to make use of the entire contents represented by the CMO for a prescribed period.
However, the NCC has been empowered by Nigerian copyright Act (NCA) 2004 to grant licenses to CMO to operate and act on behalf of copyright owners. By the current development, only MCSN has the blessing of NCC to act as Nigerian sole CMO but the bottom line in the development and the contention of COSON is that MCSN cannot represent artistes registered with them.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”