Gospel music promoter, Nii Noi, has criticised the institutions responsible for protecting musicians’ rights, terming them as ineffective when it comes to tackling piracy in Ghana.
Speaking during a panel discussion on Onua TV, Nii Noi said the bodies tasked with collecting royalties for artistes and safeguarding their work from piracy are no longer able to perform their duties properly.
According to him, this failure has left musicians vulnerable and without any protection for their creative work.
He argued that if the authorities cannot arrest or stop the people who pirate music, then a different approach must be considered, one that turns the situation into something that can still benefit artistes.
He explained that Nigeria has found a way to deal with the piracy issue by engaging those involved in it and bringing them into a legal system.
Instead of chasing them without results, they created a structure that allows musicians to benefit financially from the same people who were previously pirating their songs.
Nii Noi believes Ghana could take a similar path.
He proposed that those involved in piracy be brought together, registered, and made to pay a small fee, such as Gh¢5 or Gh¢10, per pendrive they use to distribute music.
He explained that if they take this approach, musicians would receive some form of compensation instead of losing out completely.
“Authorities that are supposed to be arresting people for piracy have become toothless because as an artiste manager or an artiste, I can’t go on my own and arrest them. We have a collective society, and we have a union that must lead some of these charges. In Nigeria, because they realised that it is difficult to do so, they have brought these piracy people together and they have legalised it.
“So, if we have gone beyond the process of stating that they can’t be arrested, then let’s legalise them. If it’s done that way, the people who have been legalised, would help apprehend the illegal ones when they come. They will report the illegal ones. If we can’t arrest them, let’s bring them together and have a conversation. For instance, they could pay Gh¢10 or G¢5 per pendrive,” Nii Noi stated.
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