Federal Government Moves To Quell Royalty Collection Crisis In Nigerian Music

Following the recent issues that have rocked the Nigerian music industry over the distribution of royalties to relevant right holders by the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Federal Government, through key ministries and agencies, has met with industy stake holders to find a way forward on the Collective Management system in the country.

In the high-level meeting that took place in Abuja on Tuesday, January 27, and was conveyed by the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, in collaboration with the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, the DG Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) Dr John Assien, and the DG National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) Mr Obi Asika.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Record Label Proprietors’ Initiative Ltd/Gte (ReLPI), represented by Mr. Kizito Ahams, Senior Licensing and Publishing Manager at Mavin Records, and the Music Publishers Association of Nigeria (MPAN), led by its Chairman, Mr. Michael Odiong, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Records, to address growing concerns around Nigeria’s collective management architecture, particularly as it affects the music industry.

Amidst the recent heightened public scrutiny of Nigeria’s collective management system, the meeting was convened to address the opaque governance structures, lack of transparency in collections and distributions, weak accountability mechanisms, and poor reporting to creators and rightsholders.

Readers will recall that Pulse Nigeria reported ReLPI’s concerns over NCC’s attempt to disburse the private copying levy to a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) that didn’t represent the interests of its members.

From Pulse Nigeria’s gathering, the meeting in Abuja raised urgent questions over custodianship, distribution, and beneficiary transparency, with attention inevitably drawn to Musical Collection Society of Nigeria (MCSN), which is the only NCC-approved music CMO in Nigeria.

According to participants, the central objective of the meeting was to review, interrogate, and possibly restructure the entire collective management framework in Nigeria, with a focus on restoring confidence, transparency, and legitimacy.

The current spotlight on MCSN is the latest in an unending series of questions over legitimacy, transparency, and operation of the NCC-approved CMO. Among some of the questions industry stakeholders have raised over MCSN's opaque operation was the lack of clarity surrounding a reported ₦2.75 billion payment made by MultiChoice, owners of DStv, to a music collective management organisation for copyright-related uses.

Among the questions raised by stakeholders is a demand for clarity on how much the CMO has collected from the copyright levy scheme and the organisations or entities that are in custody of these funds.

There are also questions around the dues paid to creators so far, and the details of who was paid and how much they got. The CMO is being asked to share details of the distribution framework that was applied and whether the relevant regulatory approval was obtained. Also, there are loud questions over the absence of a publicly accessible audit of the CMO’s financial dealings.  

For stakeholders, the meeting is the first big step in engaging the government on the issues plaguing collective management in Nigeria and a pathway to building systems that perimarily serves creators and rightsholders first.

The expectation is that the engagement would lead to structures that can guarantee transparency, accountability, and restore investor faith in the Nigerian music industry and the entertainment ecosystem.

For now, the closed-door meetings are expected to continue with all relevant right-holders and industry stakeholders closely monitoring the outcome that will invariably shape the future of Nigerian music, Nigeria’s creative economy, and stand as a major test of political will.

Pulse Nigeria will continue to monitor the situation and update as events unfold.