Members of Copyright
Society of Nigeria (COSON) this Thursday, December 15, 2016, approved the
distribution of a record N200 million naira in copyright royalties to members
and affiliates as proposed by the Board of the society which collects royalties
for the use musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria. The unanimous
approval of the proposed distribution took place at the Extra-Ordinary General
Meeting (EGM) of COSON held at Niteshift Coliseum, Opebi, Ikeja.
In an outstanding
display of coordinated technological efficiency, immediately after the
approval, several members of COSON at the venue confirmed that shortly after
the approval, they received alerts from their banks confirming that their
royalties had just been paid.
For the Extra Ordinary
General Meeting, the gaily dressed musicians, young and old from across the
country thronged Niteshift Coliseum in a celebratory mood. There was so much
singing and dancing as several musicians performed at the event, turning the
general meeting into a carnival.
In his address which was punctuated by
intermittent applause, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji thanked the members
for their continuous support of the society since its inception. Said Okoroji
“Despite what is a very hostile environment under which your society has had to
operate and an economy hit by severe recession and despite the acquisition of
the multi-million Naira ‘COSON House’ which is fully paid for, your Board is
today putting before you a scheme for the distribution of a record sum of
N200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira), a 42.86% increase on the sum
of N140,000,000.00 (One Hundred & Forty Million Naira) which you approved
for distribution last year”. The information was received with huge applause
and unprecedented celebration.
Reporting on the acquisition of the new COSON
property, Chief Okoroji said, “I am pleased to announce to you today that in
keeping with your mandate, your society has acquired and fully paid for a big
multi-million Naira property at No 41 Oluwaleyemu Street, off Allen Avenue,
Ikeja. When fully renovated, the property to be known as “COSON HOUSE” will
have state of the art facilities for the operation of any modern organization
and provide sufficient accommodation for our growing work force. It is our hope
that by time the next AGM takes place, we would have moved from Omodara Street
to COSON HOUSE".
Commenting further, the Chairman said, “I want
to congratulate every member of COSON for this historic achievement not made by
any organization in the creative industry before now. Let me remind you that
none of us can truly say anymore that he or she is not a landlord because we
are all owners of COSON HOUSE”
Chief Okoroji reported on many initiatives
undertaken by his Board to increase the fortunes of the creative industry in
Nigeria and boost the Nigerian economy. On the private copy levy scheme, he
said that with the firm promises made to a recent COSON delegation by the
Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and the visible steps he has
taken since the meeting, he is satisfied that finally, the activation of the
private copy levy scheme is receiving appropriate attention.
On the dispute with the
telecommunication companies, Okoroji said “While we have sought judicial
intervention in specific cases, we also went to Abuja to seek administrative
intervention at the highest level to ensure that going forward, all contributors
to the pie get their appropriate share of the pie and that the interaction
between the telecommunication industry and the creative industry positively
affects the Nigeria economy. In Abuja, we received unequivocal assurance from
the Honourable Minister of Communications that he will personally address the
issues with dispatch”.
Speaking on the royalty
agreement with the broadcast industry, the COSON Chair said, “Whilst we cannot
undervalue the importance of our agreement with the broadcast industry. I wish
to report that from the COSON/BON/IBAN/NBC/NCC Agreement, the broadcast
industry owes COSON a significant amount of money, money which should be
available for distribution to our members and affiliates.
“This is one of the
issues our delegation took to Abuja last month. You must have heard that the
Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, has
forcefully called on all broadcasting stations operating in Nigeria to honour
the copyright royalty agreement they entered with COSON in 2014”.
Concluding, the celebrated former President of
PMAN said, “This same COSON which was given no chance six years ago, today has
reciprocal representation agreements with other CMOs covering about 140
countries and territories in every continent ensuring that Nigerian music is
protected around the world.
“As you well know, COSON has collected and
distributed several hundreds of millions of naira to right owners across
Nigeria. You can bear witness to the fact that without stories and without
excuses, COSON has paid royalties every year since inception.
“Fellow members of COSON, it is not yet El
Dorado and there is still a lot of work to do but I say to you, when someone
says to you, ‘nothing works in Nigeria’ please shake your head and say to the
person, ‘COSON is working!’’’
