Copy Rights Enslavement

onnaedo

May 20, 2014 12:05 PM

An up-coming artiste who obviously had enough talent to interest a few record labels but not enough patience and understanding to listen to legal advice, recently signed a record contract with a record label. Unfortunately, it took him less than four months of signing the contract to run back to ask for a way out of the very oppressive contract he had stubbornly signed.

It was a very laughable situation remembering all the time spent explaining to him the reason why he shouldn't have signed the contract without certain amendments or without certain clauses being included or removed. I wouldn't blame his actions on over excitement, rather I'd say it was desperation or maybe both emotions that ran through his veins, hence his thoughts couldn't see sift through the beautiful lies being portrayed by the label. It was really funny just imagining that only some few months ago I was the one pleading with him not to sign the contract, it was now him pleading and begging to be brought out of the contract he willingly enslaved himself with.

But should much of the blame be put on him? It seems to be the norm amongst Nigerian record labels to virtually own an artiste totally. An artiste is enslaved to his record label as everything the artiste would ever come up with is owned by a body not him. I do not understand why over and over again artistes do not just want to understand the fact that they are entitled to the copyrights of their songs as well. It is incomprehensible how record labels would be clinging so hard to 100% of the copyrights of their acts.

In as much as the label would want the glory for investing their time and money on an artiste, the artiste that turns his or her voice into a piece of art cannot just be discountenanced because he has been paid.

The copyrights rights of a musical production is both the property of the artiste and the musical label. The rights of the production of the song usually belongs to the label because they are responsible for producing the song into finished products, the rights that belong to the artiste is for the songs he writes and makes with his voice. The tangible interest in any art lies with the authors of such art. In this instance, the artiste, music writer and producer.

But it has become the norm for labels to cajole artiste into signing contracts that leave this artiste empty handed whenever the contractual relationship ends. Labels make artistes sign contracts that simply make the label own everything that was done during the tenure of the contract.

Its like the story of the biblical Jacob and Esau, for a sweet plate of porridge he gave away his birthright. Artistes should take heed, exercise due caution and employ the services of a competent lawyer when going into such contracts.

Written by Adedayo Matti

onnaedo