RHYTHM AND RIGHTS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COPYRIGHT LAWS IN THE NIGERIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY

Abstract

Music is an important part of human history that has found its pride of place in every part of the world. There is hardly any day that passes by without songs being listened to. It is important that creators of music enjoy the benefits of their works, else lose the motivation to produce more musical works. These creators cannot be protected if the law does not give its protection, and thus the essence of copyright (laws) in nearly every country. In Nigeria, the copyright laws grant an automatic protection to works that have satisfied the statutory requirements of originality and fixation. Unfortunately, the music industry has been affected by the acts of freeloaders – copyright infringement of musical works. Musical creators in Nigeria would benefit more if there was a way to ensure compliance with the copyright law. The laws in Nigeria, unfortunately, are not accommodating with regards to musical works being infringed on the internet and other public space without authorization or permission of the creator. It is a seemingly impossible task, on the part of the musical creator, to monitor all works being published. The general objective of this study is to examine rhythm and rights: An analysis of the effectiveness of copyright laws in the Nigerian music industry. In the course of carrying out this research, doctrinal research methodology was adopted and the work recommended among others that, there is a need for the government to introduce intellectual property enforcement unit, cross border co-operation and more training for law enforcement agents, and concluded that Artists are entitled to some form of compensation every time their musical work or sound recording is exploited in a public and/or commercial setting, and efforts should be put in place to protect copyright in music industry in Nigeria.