The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has pledged to intensify efforts around collecting and enforcing public performance rights on sound recordings.
The announcement was made by COSON earlier this month and was welcomed yesterday (27. April) by the IFPI, which said it had worked in close cooperation with COSON over several months to enable the collection and distribution of performance royalties to rights holders and artists in the country.
In a statement, Rob Hooijer, IFPI regional coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa explained
We are excited about the potential of the Nigerian music market and we are pleased to partner with COSON to help the industry exercise their rights in Nigeria.
We hope that the example set by COSON will encourage other countries and Music Licencing Companies to work with the local and international music industry
The news was also welcomed by the wider international music business with Adrian Cheesley, Senior Vice President Universal Music Group, called the development a very important step benefiting artists, the local recording industry and the broader African music community.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. COSON is the sole collective management organisation (CMO) approved to act on behalf of authors, composers, performers, publishers of musical works and owners of sound recordings in Nigeria.