Top Nigerian musician, Sammie Okposo has bared his mind on the crisis rocking the nation’s music industry following the face-off between Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria,BON, and Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON.
In a statement made available, Okposo said ‘I believe in the growth and advancement of the Nigerian entertainment industry. I also strongly believe that artistes should be paid royalties for their various works and that is what informed my becoming a member of COSON. All the media houses in Nigeria and COSON have to sit together and forge a way out of the storm by finding a lasting solution’.
Commenting on the ban slammed by BON on all COSON members, Okposo said, it was not the best decision, calling on broadcasting stations to continue to play his music and that of other Nigerian artistes.
‘There can be no vacuum in life. The implication of the ban is that foreign music will once more rule our airwaves as was the case in the past and this has cultural implications for Nigerians as a people. So we must continue to promote Nigerian music as this is not negotiable.
All the hard work that Nigerian artistes have done over the years to make Nigerian music a global brand will go down the drain if this is not resolved. We must remember Europe, America , Asia and the rest of the world will not promote our music for us, so we must do it by ourselves.”
While calling on BON president to obey time tested world standard best practices, the Glo Ambassador said, ‘the radio and TV stations in Nigeria really do not have a choice in this matter because payment of royalties for airplay to artistes is internationally accepted and practiced, and Nigeria will not be an exception’.
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