A veteran musician, Zaaki Azzay has decried ignorance of copyright laws and intellectual property matters amongst young artistes.
Speaking in an interview with Pot Pourri, he said: “I really think there is a lot that needs to be done when it comes to educating young, upcoming artistes about royalties, copyright, and related issues. When I was the Vice President of PMAN, these were some of the topics we were very particular about. Most of those kinds of responsibilities actually lie with PMAN — that is what PMAN is supposed to be doing. Instead of PMAN owning up to its responsibilities, it is obvious that what the association has been known for over the years, even till now, is infighting and greed”.
He added that some of these young artistes lack basic knowledge about intellectual property.
“Some of these artistes don’t even know what intellectual property is; they don’t know anything about royalties. All they think about is making a popular song, performing, getting shows, and enjoying the celebrity lifestyle.These days, with the growing global attention on Nigerian music, online presence, and the rise of streaming platforms, things have become a bit better in terms of securing one’s intellectual property. It was M.I who first brought streaming to my attention years ago. People were using my songs left, right, and centre — uploading them to their platforms and cashing out — and I didn’t even know”.
Azzay also insisted that the lack of knowledge is not solely the artistes’ fault. “There are laws guiding intellectual property, but the lack of awareness is not entirely the fault of artistes. It is the fault of the government and the structures that should be in place, especially organizations responsible for the creative industry like PMAN. These lapses are why young artistes and creatives may not know these things,” he explained.
