Drumbeats and jubilation have continued to trail the issuance of license to the Musical Copyright Society of
Nigeria,MCSN, more than a decade after it was registered to collect
copyright royalties for musicians.
General Manager, Mayo Ayilaran and
other key members, OritsWilliki, George Dureke among others have been
rejoicing and telling whoever cares to listen that it's victory for
all after fighting rigorously to achieve the feat.
According to them, the Nigerian
Copyright Council,NCC, “for some strange reasons,’’ refused to
grant operating license to MCSN that has owned both Nigerian and
international repertoire for over a decade but to license another
competitor. “These kind of things can only happen in Nigeria. And
the moral lesson is never give up on whatever you believe in, fight
for your rights, justice shall always prevail no matter how long,’’
George Dureke, one of the forces behind MCSN said.
He explained that copyright is an
intellectual property, just like a house or any other physical
property which the owner has a choice of who can collect his or her
royalties from any part of the world on their behalf. “That the NCC
denied MCSN its right to collect royalties from its members is the
worst injustice of all times,” Dureke added. On his own, Pupa
Orits (OritsWilliki) sounding rather philosophical, stated that man
is not God. “His thinking doesn’t go like ours neither is our
judgment His judgment. In His time, the trees shall go green and bear
its desired fruit. It’s only in Nigeria that somebody can seize
your property’s rent…’’ Other members who reacted to the
cheering development include ex-PMAN president, Femi Lasode,
soundtrack wizard, Mike Nliam and Francis Goldman as they expressed
their gratitude to God for MCSN’s eventual triumph. The battle for
its registration was trailed by series of litigations in courts while
it lasted.
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