![]() This leakage is particularly detrimental to Nigerian artists because, unlike other jurisdictions where streaming revenues and other forms of exploitation of their intellectual property assets form a large portion of their earnings, Nigerian artists are, currently, forced to rely heavily on other forms of income such as, corporate sponsorship contracts, paid performances, concerts, other forms of paid personal appearances and ringtone sales. The unauthorized use of copyright affects the ability of any rights owner to adequately maximise and monetise their ownership rights. Such activity constitutes a form of copyright infringement pursuant to the Act. ![]() Illegal uploading or downloading of content occurs when an individual is able to access copyrighted files which have been uploaded on sharing platforms without the permission of the copyright owner, who may be a record label or an artist. Such infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed without the express authorization of the copyright owner. ![]() The Copyright Act (the “Act”) provides that any use of a literary, artistic or musical work without the authorisation of the copyright owner is an act of infringement. This is because infringers are developing more sophisticated ways of reproducing, re-distributing and retransmitting copyrighted content, thereby making it increasingly difficult to curb such unauthorized use of copyrighted content. The development and introduction of the streaming technologies that have just been described also unfortunately, facilitates the wrongful exploitation of copyright as well as the unauthorized use of copyright in music. The Effect of Illegal Downloading of Music There is no doubt that a significant portion of this estimation may be attributed to the increase in the subscription od internet subscribers to these music sharing and streaming platforms. A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also estimates that the current value of the media and entertainment industry in Nigeria, is $3.7 billion. Statistics show that Nigeria has a significant number of internet users more specifically, these studies have revealed an estimated number of 97 million internet subscribers. ![]() It should be noted however, that although the Nigerian market is still largely untapped, online streaming platforms are an indicator of the growth within the Nigerian music industry. According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI)’s Global Report 2019, streaming platforms, which give a consumer access to music for a subscription fee, are responsible for at least 47% of global music revenue. With developing technology and the introduction of digital streaming platforms, there has been a significant shift from accessing music through CDs, vinyl records or the radio to streaming platforms such as Boomplay, Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal, to name a few. Digital streaming platforms further allow for such monetisation of rights, thereby creating various revenue streams for each rights owner. This means that in every song, it is possible to have multiple copyright owners, which in turn allows each owner, the right to monetize their copyright and maximise earnings. In any musical work, there are two forms of copyright composition (lyrics and melody) and sound recording/ masters: (the actual audio recording of the performance of a song). Copyright gives an author or owner, the exclusive legal right to print, publish, perform, film or record literary, artistic, or musical material and to authorize others to do the same. This paper discusses the extent of copyright protection available in relation to the music industry, particularly with respect to uploading of musical content, on online platforms and the illegal downloads of the same.Ĭopyright is a form of Intellectual Property, which protects the expression of ideas that have been reduced to a tangible form. Illegal downloads and piracy have become a menace to society and continues to affect the growth and development of our music industry negatively. In Nigeria, a significant portion of the population does not have access to these streaming platforms for a number of reasons, including, intermittent or no internet access, the increasing cost of data, and copyright infringement, also known as piracy. Streaming services have become a significant method of determining the growth of any artist in the music industry. We now live in an era, where Compact Discs (CDs) and vinyl records have become almost obsolete the world of music has gone digital. Today, the success of an artist is largely determined by the number of streams or downloads their music has.
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