The air-conditioning in the reception
area of MAKINDA, BURNES &Co was almost freezing, yet Anna broke into sweats
as she sat nervously waiting to be called upon by the lady at the reception.
She was scheduled to meet with John Makinda, Senior Partner at the law firm and
a veteran attorney whose Elsie’s parents had referred her to. She was sure that
with his pedigree, Makinda would be the right person to make Jusky pay for the
wrong he had done her.
‘‘Madam, the boss will see you
now’’ the young attractive attendant called out to her. “You may take the
elevator to the 4th floor; the first office at the right is the one. He is
expecting you”.
Anna muttered a thank you and
hurried to catch the elevator.
‘‘Good afternoon Miss, may I call
you Anna?” Asked Makinda as he rose to his feet to welcome her
‘’Yes please and thank you for agreeing
to see me sir’’ Anna said
‘‘I will do nothing to offend my
good friends who spoke to me about your case’’ Makinda replied with a smile.
‘Please sit down and tell me all about it’
With all the strength she could
muster, Anna narrated to Makinda how she met Jusky and all that had transpired
between them. He listened to her patiently and when she was through, Makinda
reached out to his bookshelf and pulled out a book as he spoke to her.
‘‘Well Anna, your story is
nothing unusual with what happens in the music industry’’ Makinda said ‘‘I am
sorry you had to learn the hard way but I am sure you are wiser now’’
Anna was surprised to know there
were people like her who had fallen victim to such ‘games’. She wondered how
many of such people were conned by Jusky, maybe they could stand in as
witnesses when Jusky was charged to court. She voiced her thoughts to Makinda.
‘‘There is no case Anna, I am
sorry’’ said Makinda ‘’from all you have said, you were not forced into signing
those papers. You mentioned that he had asked you to study to the papers first
but you were too eager to sign when you saw the benefits in the agreement’’.
‘‘So what am I going to do, is
Jusky going to get off just like that?’’ Anna asked
‘‘There is nothing to hold
against Jusky. You’ve got to come to terms with that but this can be prevented
from happening again’’ Makinda said
‘‘How?” Anna asked sadly
‘‘First, you have to be well
equipped with the necessary information. Here, this book will help you and you
can do more research on the internet’’ he said handing over to her the book he
had in his hand.
‘‘Pay attention to pages 76
through 85’ he continued ‘they will help you a lot’’
“What is this?” Anna asked, leafing
through the pages ‘‘I’ve heard about copyright but I am not sure what it is all
about’’
Makinda smiled and said, “I know.
If you did, you would have made a better decision with Jusky’s offer. Anyway, I
will take you through some important points but I expect you to read up more
about it especially if you want to make a success out of your career. Knowledge
is King in this game, always remember that”.
“First, every piece of music you
create is protected by the Nigerian law. That protection in simple terms is
often referred to as copyright. Your copyright is the exclusive authorization
you have as the creator of such work to use it and to prevent anyone from using
your music without your permission. Does that make sense”?
“Ummm, ummm” she replied with a
nod
“Now as a copyright owner, you
have two types of rights; moral rights and economic rights. Your economic
rights allow you get financial rewards from the use of your works. It was your
economic rights that were involved in your contract with Jusky”
“Ummm” Anna cooed
“Your moral rights on the other
hand are those rights that forever link you to your work. This allows you earn
credit when your work is used and also you can decide for or against the use of
your works in certain ways or for certain purposes. Even Jusky will need your
approval before he can take advantage of the economic rights in your songs in
certain situations. So you see all is not lost”.
“Interesting” she said
“Yes. With your economic rights however, you
can negotiate deals ranging from a record deal to taking a loan from a bank”
Makinda said, smiling as Anna’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘”Tell me more” she said
“You can authorize broadcast
stations and clubs to play your music and have them pay for it. Such payments
are called copyright royalties” he continued
“Do you mean Jusky has been
receiving copyright royalties from all the air play my songs have been
enjoying?” Anna asked shocked
“I am certain he has, he is a
thorough businessman and knows the rules” Makinda said
“Wow” she said
“No one has the right without
your permission to make copies of your works and distribute them even on the
internet. That means you can make money from those websites that upload your
music either to attract customers or advertisers”
“Really?’’ Anna was amazed
‘‘Yes, there’s so much copyright
offers you but to fully take advantage of them, you must be well informed. I am
sure you didn’t know that no one has the right to perform your music on a
public stage without paying you for it’’ he said
‘‘Like in the reality TV shows?’’
Anna asked
‘‘Yes. Not just that but in concerts
and other gatherings such as Annual General Meetings and Christmas parties organized
by corporate bodies. Weddings are not left out’’
‘‘Ohhhhh my Godddd’’ Anna
screamed ‘‘How could I have known this?’’
‘’Now you know’’ Makinda said
‘‘But how can I handle of all of
these in future? Monitor how and where my works are being used, get people to
pay for my music and all?’’ Anna asked confused
‘‘I have good news for you, you
do not need to do this hard work all by yourself. The Federal Government of
Nigeria has licensed a body to handle all of these details for all Nigerian
musicians and others who own copyrights in music in Nigeria. The body is called
Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON for short. They are well equipped to bear
these burdens for you and I tell you what? You do not have to suffer any loss
if you work with them”.
‘‘What am I waiting for? I am working
on some songs for a new album which is not included in Jusky’s agreement. Now
must be the time to speak with the guys at COSON. I must not be left out of
this good things happening’’ she said excitedly
‘‘Good’ Makinda said, ‘‘you can
find out more about them at www.cosonng.com
and even get their office address there’’
‘‘Thank you so much sir’’ Anna
said ‘‘you’ve given me hope, now I can get over my mistakes and make the best
out of my musical career’’
THE END
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