Copyright Issues Arising from Singing Competitions

Over the years singing competitions and talent shows have become a regular feature on our television screens because of their soaring popularity. Shows such as Nigerian Idols, Project Fame and more recently the Voice have captured the imaginations of viewers of different ages. The popularity of talent shows and singing contests is hinged on the fact that viewers identify with the contestants on the show because they are ordinary people struggling for relevance which sort of summarises the life of the average man. Additionally, the viewer feels emotionally connected to contestants who have heartfelt background stories.

Although these shows are very entertaining, one cannot help but wonder how copyright issues are handled behind closed doors considering the amount of work of artists used by producers. Let us take a closer look at a typical show the Voice or Nigerian Idols, the contestants in the show at the auditioning stage cover other people’s song, as they go through various stages of the show more songs by other artists are also covered. And in shows like the Idol series there are group performances in which participants use the music of a lot of other artists.

Countries all over the world including Nigeria recognise the intellectual property rights that exist in musical works and sound recordings. Section 1 of the Copyright Act expressly states that musical works and sound recordings are eligible for copyright protection under Nigerian law. Section 2 of the Act gives conditions for obtaining copyright under the Act which includes expending sufficient effort on the work to give it an original character, the work must also be in fixed medium known or later to be developed from which it can be perceived, reproduced or communicated. Interestingly, in the UK creative endeavours are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, these are equally recognised and protected in certain countries. This is a good arrangement which we could seek to include under Nigerian Copyright Law. Apparently, under the US Copyright Act 1976 artists are encouraged to register their copyright claims to create a public record of it and this must be done before an action for infringement is instituted. Another laudable feature of American and British Copyright Law is that they protect works published on the internet with unknown authors called “orphan works.” The Berne Convention 1886 also provides copyright protection to works of members of the union

Going back to the issue of using copyrighted material on Talent shows, PAUL PLAY DAIRO V EMERGING MARKET TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND ANOR FHC/L/CS/581/2014 clearly illustrates the copyright issues that arise. In that case the Artist Paul Play Dairo brought an action against ETISLAT for using his song “Mososire” on the programme without paying him for two years. He had averred that during the course of the programme, a contestant performed his song without his express permission. In his supporting affidavit he averred that. “I am the copyright owner of the work named and tagged ‘Mosorire,’ contained in my repertoire, exclusively for the jurisdiction of Nigeria and the authority or permission to exploit such work can only be obtained from me.” He brought this action against the organisers of Nigerian Idol, Etisalat Nigeria, for the use, adaptation and deployment of ‘Mosorire’ on the said show without his consent. The said performance was broadcast to several millions of television viewers throughout Nigeria and the rest of Africa for the 2012 and 2013 editions. Paul Play maintained that as owner and composer of the song, he was entitled to an annual fee of N100 million on the track. He stated that “having made use of my song without my express consent, the defendants, Etisalat and Optima Media Group, have made him lose some money, while they made gains and improved on their own brand image.” He further sought a declaration “that the act of adaptation, deployment, public performance and exploitation of his musical work titled “Mosorire” by the defendants without the Plaintiff’s prior consent, authorisation, or permission constitutes an infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright as guaranteed by the Copyright Act Cap C28, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004 and Section 6 6 (b) and 44 of the Constitution.”

In a related development in Vietnam, the Voice was criticised for contestants using a song without the owner’s permission. The details of the story are that on June 30, after the first episode of the 2013 The Voice of Vietnam’s Battle Round was broadcast on TV, a young singer Nguyen Dinh Thanh Tam wrote on social media that the show had used his song “Chay Mua” (Run out of the rain) without his permission. The show was lucky that the singer involved did not take the action to court but was content with sharing his thoughts on social media and local media.

Usually on Talent Shows producers obtain licences for the songs the contestants will sing and all other music that will be used in the production process to avoid copyright infringement.

Conclusion On a final note, Copyright related issues have to be carefully addressed by the producers of international singing competitions because these shows are broadcast to a very large audience and gain profit from commercials, therefore failing to obtain the artist’s permission will amount to a gross violation of copyright entitling the artist to compensation.

Also the Nigerian Copyright Act should be amended to offer musicians more protection for example works posted on the internet are not offered protection by the act.