Musicians plan to demonstrate

Information reaching The Saturday Statesman indicates that a number of top musicians and some key functionaries in the music industry, including record label executives, are to embark on a massive demonstration against what they described as “dangerous clauses” in the new Copyright Regulations which will soon become law.

Some of the provisions of these regulations have been described as burdensome, oppressive and anti-private sector initiative.

According to The Saturday Statesman source, the demonstration, which is likely to be preceded by a media briefing, would be staged in Accra.

Our investigations have established that the Copyright Society of Ghana, which was formed by government in 1986 as a statutory body to collect and distribute royalties to copyright owners, is to be dissolved to make way for new private societies.

Two new associations have so far been formed - Ghana Music Owners Rights Protection Society and Music Copyright Society of Ghana - for the collection of royalties on behalf of their members.

The Saturday Statesman went round to interview some key operators in the music industry. One artiste who did not want his name disclosed lamented, “For the past years, COSGA hasn’t rendered any proper account to us; it is not transparent.

“The most painful aspect of it is that, now that we have the opportunity to operate our own private societies and ensure that laws governing them are appropriate, some key members in the music industry have joined forces with the copyright administration to make sure that the new regulations, with all their major flaws, are passed into law”.

Randy Nunoo, a popular musician, rebuffed, “These laws they are pushing on us are just too much and we will not accept them. How can they ask us to pay GH¢60.00 (approximately 60 million cedis) if one refuses to put a sticker - which can easily be counterfeited - on his CD, whiles book authors who are also copyright owners are not compelled to do same?

“Also why should each private music collecting society have to establish functional offices in five regions of Ghana before being allowed to operate? This is financially crippling, and simply not right. It is our music, our own intellectual property, and we must get what is best for us. They must not impose such unbearable burdens on us. It is totally unfair”.

Some of the concerns expressed by the music owners were that the law makers had been misled by the Copyright Office in the drafting of the Regulations, as some key clauses clearly demonstrate a total lack of understanding of how the music industry operates.

This situation, if not corrected, will finally result in the destruction of the music business in Ghana according to analysts.

A popular artiste also disclosed that on 29 April 2008, there was supposed to have been a Copyright forum at the Accra International Conference Centre for musicians to air their grievances concerning the Regulations before being sent to Parliament, but the program was strangely cancelled at the last minute without explanation, “and to date nobody has had the courtesy to explain to stakeholders why this happened”.

Some peeved musicians were of the view that the Regulations were going to create a stifling environment for them instead of an enabling one, so they were planning to call on the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice as well as Members of Parliament to ensure that all clauses that are inimical to music practitioners be expunged from the Regulations.