Coson Thanks All For The Huge Success Of The Nigerian Digital Music Summit

By COSON COSON

Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has expressed its appreciation of the significant turnout and participation of songwriters, publishers, label owners, aggregators, telecommunication operators, entertainment lawyers, government regulatory agencies, the media and copyright experts from around the world at the recently held Nigerian Digital Music Summit. The summit which concluded its proceedings at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos on September 29, 2015, has been commended all round as a historic event in the development of the Nigerian music industry.

Commenting on the summit, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON said, “At the summit, everyone openly bared his mind. There was no pretense and no sugar coating. The objective was to identify the problems and design actions to address them. The Nigerian Digital Summit was not just a world class event in attendance and organization, it was focused like a laser beam on moving the Nigerian music industry to the digital age. One of the big achievements was the setting up of the Digital Music Monitoring Group made up of tried and tested persons from across the private and public spectrum. The monitoring group is charged with taking the decisions made at the summit and ensuring that they are fully implemented. That will certainly create a revolution in the Nigerian music industry and shape the way things are done in the country. The steps we have taken have made the summit very different from the usual Nigerian talk shop”.

Also speaking, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, General Manager of COSON said, “We are pleased with the outcome of the summit. So much was said and resolutions were adopted. We are set to implement these resolutions to steer the industry forward. Going forward, it can never be business as usual”.

The Nigerian Digital Music Summit was held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos from September 28 to 29, 2015 with the theme: “Establishing the Basic Rules of Engagement in the Digital Environment”. The Summit was organized by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) with the support of the Growth & Employment Project (GEM) (funded by the World Bank and domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment).

The two-day event provided an opportunity for key players in the production and distribution of music to engage with copyright experts from around the world to deliberate on the rules of engagement in the digital environment so as to ensure that practitioners who are involved in the value chain in Nigeria get a fair deal and to guarantee the stability and sustainable growth of the Nigerian music industry.

Participants at the Summit included musicians, music producers, label owners, copyright administrators, rights managers, music aggregators, telecommunications companies, legal practitioners, advertising practitioners and government officials.

The welcome address was delivered by Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON and welcome remarks were made by Mr. Afam Ezekude, Director General, Nigerian Copyright Commission; Engineer Peter Jack, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (represented by Mr. John Kennedy Chime); and Mr. Yunusa S. Labaran, Project Coordinator, Growth and Employment Project (GEM).

Papers were presented by experts on various topics, including: (i) “Understanding How the Digital Music Business Works in Nigeria” by Mr. Audu Maikori; (ii) “Aggregating Music for the Digital Market Place” by Mr. Lawrence Wilbert; (iii) “The Digital Music Market Place and Copyright” by Mrs. Tarja Koskinen-Olsson; (iv) “Digital Music Licensing: Current Issues” by Mrs. Inger Elise Mey; (v) “Monetization of the Digital Exploitation of Musical Works and Sound Recordings as it Affects Creators and Publishers, Performers and Record Companies” by Mr. Rob Hooijer; (vi) “Employment Opportunities in a Structured Music Industry” by Mr. Yunusa S. Labaran; and (vii) “Monetising Music in the Internet Age: The CAPASSO South Africa Experience” by Ms. Nothando Migogo. The presentations were complemented by panel discussions and interventions by other industry practitioners and experts.