Nigeria Content Online

It appears the
faceoff between the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the
management of Cool FM and Wazobia FM may not end soon going by
development in the saga.

COSON had on
January 17 requested the Federal Government to revoke the licenses of
the two Lagos-based radio stations for their disdain for the country’s
copyright laws and violations of broadcast code.”Owners of Cool FM and
Wazobia FM, who make a fortune annually in advertising revenue, have
shown clearly that despite the provisions of the law, they have no
intention of obtaining authorisation or license to play any musical
work. In other words, Cool FM and Wazobia FM are above the law,” COSON
said in a letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Chair of COSON,
Tony Okoroji, went a step further by requesting agencies that support
Nigerian musicians not to deal with the two radio stations.

“We wish to notify
corporate Nigeria that of the huge amount of money paid by them to
these stations, a small fraction of which is meant to be used to ensure
that the owners of the works broadcast on the stations are paid, not
one kobo is spent by the owners of Cool FM and Wazobia FM to properly
acquire the rights to the music they broadcast daily. We shall
therefore consider any advertising agency or organisation still
advertising on Cool FM and Wazobia FM as an enemy of Nigeria’s creative
talents bent on aiding and abetting infringement of the rights of
Nigerian artistes.” Okoroji had also disclosed that COSON had written
on several occasions to the management of Cool FM and Wazobia FM
inviting them for discussions but that they had never replied.

State of denial

However, the
reported denial by proprietors of the stations that they have never
received any letters from either COSON or its lawyers informing them
that they should obtain copyright license before broadcasting any music
has drawn the ire of the society.

“If that is how the
owners of Wazobia and Cool FM want to frame their narrative, then it is
clear that they are in denial,” Okoroji said while reacting to the
reported denial.

Acting general
manager of the society, Chinedu Chukwuji also said, “I am shocked by
the alleged denial by the owners of Cool FM and Wazobia FM. I have a
file full of copies of the letters to these stations. I also have the
copies of the letters written by our lawyers. It is laughable to learn
that they claim to be unaware of their legal responsibility to obtain
copyright licence for the music they broadcast.

“At the COSON
stakeholders forum held on July 1, 2010 at Protea Hotel, GRA IKeja,
where this issue was discussed for hours, CooL FM was represented by Ms
Alero Eghaghe, their Assistant General Manager, Music. The Nigerian
Copyright Commission (NCC) has published several public notices on the
matter. The subject has been a hot topic across the Nigerian media for
several months. I have called Cool FM on the phone several times asking
them to comply with the law, without any positive response. Who are
they trying to deceive? They want to hide their head in the sand. Their
claim is a joke and an afterthought.”

Manager of Tuface
Idibia and chief executive officer of Nowmuzik, Efe Omorogbe, also
expressed displeasure on the stance of the stations. He said, “These
guys don’t know that the music industry has changed. They think that it
is business as usual. A revolution has taken place before their eyes
and they did not see it. When COSON speaks, it speaks with the mandate
of the industry. All the key organisations in the music industry are
behind COSON. We are united in this cause. The era of free music in
Nigeria is gone forever.”

Weighing in, Onyeka Onwenu said, “Last week, COSON licensed all the
stations of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria all over the
country. If the massive FRCN can subject itself to be licensed by
COSON, who is Cool FM? Who is Wazobia FM? “