NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER AS NIGERIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY CELEBRATES 'NO MUSIC DAY' ON SEPTEMBER 1

STEADY GOVERNMENT POLICY: A MAJOR REASON FOR COSON SUCCESS - OKOROJ

Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria, the nation’s sole collective management organisation for musical works and sound recordings has identified the consistency in government policy with respect to copyright in recent times as a major reason for the significant success that COSON has scored.

Speaking on the recent historic reciprocal representation agreement between COSON and PRS for Music of United Kingdom, Chief Okoroji said government’s action through the NCC has further boosted the country’s copyright image the world over.

Chief Okoroji said “Before now, nobody was sure as to what the policy of the Nigeria government was with respect to copyright. There were mixed messages; the clear lack of policy somersault from the Nigeria Copyright Commission, NCC in recent years has given confidence to many in the international community to deal with Nigeria with certainty. Nigerian musicians are beneficiaries of the steady hand at the steering which Barr. Afam Ezekude, the NCC DG, and the Justice Minister, Mr. Mohammed Bello have provided”

Continuing, the COSON boss said “Every pressure that has been put on NCC to misinterpret or misrepresent the law has been resisted and it is our hope that other government officials will learn from this”

It would be recalled that since Monday August, 19, 2013, COSON has celebrated the signing of an agreement that will see the Nigerian collective Management Organization manage in Nigeria the extensive repertoire of world music controlled by PRS for Music while PRS for Music will ensure the collection of royalties on behalf of COSON, its members and affiliates for the use of Nigerian music in the UK and other territories where PRS operates directly or through its affiliates.

: CHAMPAGNE FLOWS AS COSON SIGNS BIG RECIPROCAL AGREEMENT WITH PRS OF LONDON

It was all laughter and back slapping at the Corporate Headquarters of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) this past week as the nation’s sole government approved collective management organization for music and sound recordings celebrated the landmark reciprocal representation agreement just signed between COSON and the United Kingdom based PRS for Music, probably the most respected CMO in the world.

The agreement formalizes the mandate to COSON to manage in Nigeria the extensive repertoire of world music controlled by PRS for Music while PRS for Music will ensure the collection of royalties on behalf of COSON, its members and affiliates for the use of Nigerian music in the UK and other territories where PRS operates directly or true its affiliates.

The details of the agreement negotiated over a period of two years were concluded during a recent visit to London by COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji who is elated by this watershed development and popped a few bottles of Champagne with COSON General Manager, Mr Chinedu Chukwuji to mark the occasion.

Reacting to the development, Chief Okoroji said ‘’the signing of the agreement between COSON and PRS for Music is proof that the world has taken notice of the significant progress COSON has made with respect to the collective management of copyright in Nigeria. Nigerian artistes can now feel confident to churn out world hits knowing that wherever in the world their music is utilized, there is a worldwide network heavily protecting their interests’’

Also highly elated, Mr Efe Omorogbe, CEO Now musik and manager of several top Nigerian artistes such as 2Face Idibia, Timi Dakolo, J. Martins, Seyi Shay, Sunny Neji, Dammy Krane, Tunde & WunmiObe, etc said, ‘’This is wonderful! Many boasted that it could not be done. Now, it is done. Anyone who may have been trying a divide and rule tactics to thwart COSON must now come to the conclusion that the game is up. Let the music pay!’’

An ecstatic COSON General Manager, Mr Chinedu Chukwuji, who could not hide his joy said, ‘’My-o-my! This is an incredible development and an indication that it can only get better with collective management of copyright in Nigeria. Nobody can ask me again, ‘who controls the PRS repertoire in Nigeria?’ COSON does, FULLSTOP!’’

Besides the recent agreement signed on behalf of  PRS for Music by Ms Kareen Buse, Managing Director, PRS for Music International and Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman COSON, COSON has also signed reciprocal representation agreements with several other CMOs in different parts of the world and today possesses the fastest growing global collective management network in Africa.

DIGITAL MUSIC SUMMIT TAKES BOLD STEPS IN NIGERIA

It was a watershed event on Monday, August 12, 2013 as the key players in the Nigerian music industry and associated stakeholders got together at Protea Hotel, GRA, Ikeja to have a no-holds-barred conversation on the future of the Nigerian music industry in the digital environment. The event was the 1^st Nigerian Digital Music Licensing Summit and anyone present at the overflowing meeting room at Protea Hotel would have noticed the passion with which every participant spoke and the resolve of the top players in the Nigerian music industry to seize the bull by the horn.
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Present at the event organized under the auspices of the Nigerian Music Industry Coalition and coordinated by Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) were some of the nation’s best known Intellectual Property lawyers such as Mr. Afam Nwokedi, Managing Partner, Stillwaters Law Firm; Mr. Femi Fajolu, Managing Partner, Chief G. O. Sodipo & Co; Mr. Mena Ajakpovi, Managing Partner, Abraham & Co and Ms. Olufimilola Banjo of Olajide Oyewole & Co. Also present were representatives of the major telephone networks and value added service providers and aggregators such as Mr. Victor Bannerman, Head of VAS, Airtel; Mr. Godwin Oriazowanlan, Head of VAS, GLO; Mr. Nnamdi Agwunobi, Managing Director, Greenbee Communications; Mr. Lawrence Wilbert, Managing Director, Agitent Wireless; Mr. Simon Aderinola, National Coordinating Consultant, Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) and Mr. Gbolahan Awonugu, representative of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

At the event masterfully moderated by COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, the Heads of the key music labels and music publishing companies were also heavily in the mix: Mr. Audu Maikori, Managing Director, Chocolatecity Group; Mr. Efe Omorogbe, Chief Executive Officer, Nowmuzik; Mr. Toju Ejueyitchie, Managing Director Premier Records and Premier Music Publishing, a former chairman, Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI) and Mr. Alec Godwin, Managing Director, Alec Entertainment. Spinlet Nigeria was represented by Mr. Mark Redguard, Chief Marketing Officer and Ms. Nkiru Balonwu, Head, Legal. The Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission was represented by Mr. Obi Ezeilo.
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The Summit reached a resolve that urgent steps be taken to align the music industry in Nigeria with developments in other parts of the developed world in the digital space. It was also decided that to protect investments of stakeholders in the industry, necessary action must be taken to ensure that henceforth the rights and obligations of every stakeholder must be understood and respected. The Summit also resolved that action be taken for continuous education and retraining of stakeholders, judges charged with adjudicating intellectual property matters, legislators and regulatory officials.
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Because of the extensive use of Nigerian music across the world, it was decided that a strong database of the different right owners in music and related agreements and assignments be developed so as to make music licensing less cumbersome. It was also decided that a scheme be devised to immediately deal with the emerging scourge of unauthorized commercial offline digital download of popular music taking place in different Nigerian cities.
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The Summit rose with the setting up of a 14 member working committee which was given a 6 weeks mandate to articulate precise plans for addressing the issues raised at the Summit.
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Also at the summit were Mr. Joel Ajayi, National President, Music Label Owners Association of Nigeria, Engr. Sharon Wilson, National President, Music Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Laolu Akins, ace producer, Chinedu Chukwuji, General Manager, COSON who coordinated the event.
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Reacting to the events at the summit, Erelu Keji Okunowo, former CEO of Sony Music Nigeria, former Chairman, International Federation of Phonographic Industries and Managing Director of MasterSounds, said, “I must say that I am really really happy that the industry has gotten this far. I also must commend the effort of COSON. Education is an ongoing thing. We must continue to learn. So I came here today to learn and actually hear what the youth have to say. I am very glad that I can see the energy. I can see the intelligence. I can see that the zeal to be professional, to be doing the right thing and to ask that things should be done properly because Nigeria so far especially in our industry, we have lived in chaos and to see that there is that cry for us to regularize, to sanitize and to create platforms or template where things can be done better for future generation.”

COSON SONG AWARDS FOR NETWORK BROADCAST

The thrills, frills and razzmatazz of the full package of the much talked about COSON Song Awards held in May in Lagos will be seen by millions of TV viewers across Nigeria soon. Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) which hosted the ground breaking event is making final arrangements for the telecast across different television networks so that people all over Nigeria and beyond can see the spectacle that has been described by many using different superlatives.
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Speaking about the long awaited telecast, COSON General Manager, Mr Chinedu Chukwuji, said, ‘I am confident to say that the COSON Song Awards is not like any other award event ever held anywhere. There might have been two or three thousand persons lucky to have been at Lagos Oriental Hotel and who saw the COSON Song Awards live. Every other Nigerian owes it to himself to see this event which is a big statement in the history of creative productions and pain staking organization around the world. The approach is educative and informative. It is gripping, highly explosive and massively entertaining’.
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Mr. Efe Omorogbe, CEO of Nowmuzik and manager of 2Face Idibia, Dammy Krane and Seyi Shay, all of whom performed at the COSON Song Awards, said of the event. ‘Every Nigerian should get a DVD copy of the event. In my job, I have travelled around the world several times over and seen shows of all kinds, I am yet to see a show like the COSON Song Awards so intricately woven with nostalgia and history and soaked in high octane entertainment. It is clearly different. I am proud that the top artistes that I manage took part in the show. To think that the COSON Song Awards was designed and presented by a completely Nigerian team is something that every Nigerian ought to be proud of. No one should miss the broadcast’
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Top singer, Azeezat who witnessed the event said, ‘Truly, the only way to describe the COSON Song Awards is wow! Chief Tony Okoroji who produced this event has redrawn the map and redefined the way such an event is choreographed. Anyone planning such events in future must first watch the COSON Song awards and then think deeply. The stage, the lights, the music, the narrative and the integration of the different elements are breath taking. The COSON Song Awards is a collector’s item and a piece of history and I cannot wait to have a DVD copy for keeps’
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Mr Patrick Doyle Jnr, one if the four crack video editors and animators who worked night and day for months to put together the spectacle that is the COSON Song Awards, said, ’I have watched the video of the COSON Song Awards and I am very proud of what we have done. Working with Chief Tony Okoroji is an experience like no other. He has a prodigious creative ability, never satisfied and simply tireless. He will break every existing production rule and create his own. He is not afraid to try previously untried ideas. He asks you to do something and at first thought what he has asked you to do is impossible. He will ask you to do it any way. Nearly all the time, he is right. With him, nothing is impossible! He is a master at assembling a large team and inspiring the team to achieve heights the members thought were unachievable. You cannot work with a man like that without your perspective changing. Mine has. I have never had to work so hard on any project in my life. I cannot wait for the reaction of Nigerians when they see the COSON Song Awards on TV. I believe that we have made history!’

COSON WAR ON ROYALTY DEFAULTERS: ‘WE MEAN BUSINESS’ –CHUKWUJI

"Those who are wise are working with COSON and have no problem. Those who are recalcitrant will pay a huge price. I have no choice but to execute the directive of my Board. Our teams of lawyers and the law enforcement agencies are being briefed. We mean business’’.