AVRS Chair Advises Members on Professionalism, Value Creation

Chair, Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS), Mahmood Ali-Balogun, has advised members and creative professionals to add value to their outputs and professionalise their trade this new year.

Ali-Balogun stated this in his 2022 message to AVRS members, noting that it would be a year of tremendous growth for all players in the creative sector.

The AVRS chair who reiterated the importance of professionalism and adding value to creative outputs to contribute more to the nation’s economy also urged members not to lose faith in collecting societies.

He said, “Though the landscape of collective management in Nigeria is still evolving and challenging, we cannot afford to be discouraged, tired or lose faith. We have been entrusted with such an important responsibility to ensure that creativity pays everyone involved in the value chain. We have sworn to execute this task to the best of our ability. We are, therefore, not resting on our oars.”

The chair of the AVRS which distributed money to members in December 2021, also appreciated the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba and his team for their continued support in ensuring that users comply with the copyright law.

 He equally thanked AVRS licensees nationwide for their cooperation while urging recalcitrant users yet to obtain the AVRS Copyright License to do so promptly.

“We are patient but very strategic in our approach. No stone will be left unturned, and no user will be spared. Our task is to ensure that right holder and practitioners in the film industry receive fair compensations for the commercial exploitation of their works,” he said.

The filmmaker also assured all members of AVRS that the body will always protect their interests in 2022 and work harder than previous years to ensure that more royalties are earned and distributed to all members whose works are exploited.

He expressed hope that the Private Copy Levy scheme would be finally activated this year and urged the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to ensure the activation of the levy as enshrined in the law.

The AVRS chair further asked the National Assembly to expedite the review of the Copyright Bill 2021 to ensure its passage in the first quarter of 2022.

He explained that activation of the private copy levy scheme and passage of the copyright bill would create an additional source of income for rightsholders and practitioners in the Nigerian creative sector.