POSSIBILITIES

Disclaimer: The aim of this article is information and enlightenment; please consult a solicitor for individual professional advice.

POSSIBILITIES

How long does it take to make a beautiful hit song? Think of the effort and time it takes to write the song, develop the tune and melody, work it all out in the studio with the producers and engineers, and the hustle to get it airtime on radio and television. And of course. There's the money involved, a little or a lot as the case may be.

Most singers, songwriters and producers can spend weeks or even months perfecting a tune or song, yet they do not pay attention to the legal and business side until things go awry. You do have some legal rights (and responsibilities) connected with your music, especially if you are a professional and it's paying your bills. The Nigerian music industry has left the 'anything goes' era. It's time to take notice and be informed. You cannot claim ignorance anymore.

Have you ever considered the possibilities of a 3-minute song? Endless. Here's a hypothetical story:

Three music lovers grew up together in Lagos. They decide to form a group and called themselves "Lagos Boys". Musa's got the voice, Emeka has the looks, and Bayo has the money. They get together and make good music.Their love ballad is a hit. The public cannot get enough of the song. 'Ganja Music', a record label, swoops them up, and signs them on. Some paperwork is involved and the guys read and understand the legal documents, at least so they think. 'Lagos Boys' are enjoying the ride- the label treats them well and takes care of their record production, publicity, performances, promotion and album sales.

Two months into the release of their 3-minute track, a popular Nigerian restaurant wants to use their song for its 'Valentine's Day' Promo. Then, a major fashion show decides to use the same song as the theme song for a fund-raising concert, where Lagos Boys will also give the star performance. Then comes the big one- their song earns a Grammy nomination as the Best Song by a Foreign Group/Duo. Riding on the waves of their huge success, the boys start producing merchandise and touring Africa, Europe and America. All of a sudden they are winning music awards and opening for the Black-Eyed Peas and Janet Jackson. Every step of the way, there is a mountain of agreements to sign. The boys barely know a thing about this, so they are quite content to let their label deal with it.

Then, a major international label makes 'Lagos Boys' a juicy offer to sign them up. The boys decide to leave Ganja Music, only to have the label claim ownership of some of the group's recorded songs. What?! Then Musa 'sees the light' and claims he should earn much more money than the others, since it's his voice that does most of the singing. Just when they boys thought they couldn't take anymore, they heard of an online shop selling their music via unauthorised downloads. Then, a group of four guys come out with the name "Lagos Big Boyz" and that doesn't feel right. Of course, there are the 'Alaba' pests who are busy getting fat off the sweat of the overworked group. And then, since their song has gained international popularity, a popular British singer hears it and claims that the boys ‘sampled’ her own song without permission. There is trouble within and outside the band. How did this get so complicated? They just wanted to sing and be popular.

Even d most sophisticated of musicians in Nigeria are not really aware of the possibilities of a song or tune. Whether it is for good or for bad, there are unavoidable possibilities. Now I know the story of ‘Lagos Boys’ is a little out there and seems far fetched. For the average 'Naija' musician, all that happens to them is album sales and Easter performances at Eleko Beach, and the most ‘trouble’ they can ever get into is by ‘dissing’ politicians in their song. However, for the musician who knows their music is good and wants to go places, the thing to do is to think ahead and think smart.

And when it comes to the legal aspect of this, there is usually always a way to make the good better, or make the bad bearable.

As a songwriter/singer/producer, you must understand so many things including: how copyrights are created; what rights copyrights give you; what copyright protects and how long the protection lasts; how to secure the best copyright law protection; how to stay out of copyright infringement suits; how to tell whether someone has infringed your copyright and what to do if someone has; how copyright is transferred, licensed and limited, the types of transfer and how the transfer is terminated; and how to understand music writing, producing, publishing and recording agreements. You must understand the sources of income earned by your songs, how this income is shared between every party involved, who the parties involved are…

If you belong to a group, you need to understand how to make the business of music work for every member of the group, you need to understand that whether you realise it or not, you and the other members of your group are in some sort of partnership even if you never sign a partnership agreement; and you need to know what rights and liabilities a partnership entails.

At some point in the life of a singer, he/she becomes a ‘brand’ and is accorded rights and responsibilities of publicity and privacy; add these to your need-to-know list.

Everything that has been said is neither meant to discourage anybody interested in making music nor complicate the art of making music, however, nothing good comes easy. Undoubtedly, there is a lot to know, but the good news is that you do not have to know it all. However, you do need to allow yourself to be guided accordingly by people that do know. If you must do it, do it right.

Remember that word: Possibilities.