A turning point came the way of Nigerian musicians today when the leadership of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) signed a Music Distribution Network (MDN) deal with Lafrique Pro Media, a leading expert in tracking, management and Identification Technology; to put in place a formal distribution system for music products and international repertoires in Nigeria.
Addressing newsmen at the PMAN Secretariat, on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, when the agreement was signed, PMAN President, Admiral Dele Abiodun who lamented that the music industry has been negatively affected by unavailability of structures that can protect musicians from exploiters said, the initiative will change the face of the music industry in Nigeria for better and give musicians a role to play in national development.
“We are under siege by pirate who steal our work and sell them far and wide while watching us wallow in abject poverty and penury. We are under siege by politicians who promises us heaven and earth in order to use our popular appeal to win votes and then turn their back on us after getting into office.
We are under are undeniably under siege by our own ignorance about the business of music and more importantly, we under siege because there are no structures on ground to protect us from all those exploiting us”.
Therefore, as part of moves to correct the anomalies that have set the music industry back, other components of the MDN includes designing and rolling out an Intellectual Property (IP) database of all music works produced in Nigeria and their authors such that a traceable and transparent system for verifying ownership of works; the distribution network to facilitate prompt payment of royalties to musicians; and the launching of an anti – piracy team that will work in consonance with government regulatory and enforcement agencies that would ensure compliance with intellectual property laws
Chief Emeka Dike, President – General, Alaba International Market Association who was present at the event declared the readiness of the market to support Nigerian musicians
No comments:
Post a Comment