The IFPI has welcomed the announcement by Nigeria’s music copyright collecting society, COSON, that it will pursue the licensing of sound recording rights exploited by users in all commercial and public settings in Nigeria.
The news follows months of cooperation between COSON and IFPI to enable the society to collect and distribute royalties to record companies and artists.
“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 Nigeria," said Rob Hooijer, IFPI regional coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa.
"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.”
Adrian Cheesley, SVP Universal Music Group, said: “This is a very important step benefiting artists, the local recording industry and the broader African music community. We look forward to working closely with COSON.”
Broadcasting and public performance rights, usually licensed collectively on behalf of the industry by dedicated music licensing companies, have become an increasingly important part of the overall music industry revenue mix. In 2015, worldwide collections for recording artists and record labels amounted to €2.3 billion and now account for 14% of overall industry revenues.
