Piracy is killing music, film industries – Musician

Former Big Brother Africa star, Mimi Abu Andani, has expressed dissatisfaction with the way legal systems in Africa tackle the issues of piracy, saying the systems do not pay much attention to the menace.

Mrs Andani, who is also the Director of the Golden Movie Awards Africa (GMAA), bemoaned that piracy was affecting the businesses of those involved in the movie and music industry, calling for immediate intervention to curb the practice.

The GMAA director was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during the official media launch of the 2017 GMAA Annual Movie Awards held at Accra on Tuesday.

She explained that the proliferation of modern technology was hampering the efforts of African filmmakers to combat piracy, adding that the problem is a global one.

“Piracy is everywhere, even in advanced countries where security software applications are available to fight. It is something every country is fighting against,” she added.

“Film associations in Ghana have remained committed to directing efforts to reduce piracy in the country but they need the support from the legal system to propel the move,” Mrs Andani stated.

However, she complained about the failure of some filmmakers to report issues of the menace at the law courts, saying it threatens the quest to weed out the problem which “is the number one enemy in the movie industry.”

The 2017 GMAA Movie Awards, which also marks the third anniversary of the GMAA being celebrated on the theme ‘empowering the African filmmaker’, seeks to motivate African filmmakers to give in their all in the business to help accelerate the growth of the movie industry.