Broadcasters
Many artists sign unfavourable contracts with record labels that give away their rights and long-term earning potential, allowing labels to collect royalties while the artist receives little to nothing.
Licensed entities, such as media houses and public venues, often fail to report music usage accurately, resulting in underpayment of royalties.
Illegal downloading, sharing, and unlicensed usage of music in public places (lounges, clubs, radio stations) are rampant, bypassing legal, royalty-generating channels.
While streaming is growing, the per-stream payout in Nigeria is significantly lower than in other regions. For example, 1 million streams on major platforms may only yield around $300-$2000 in Nigeria compared to higher rates elsewhere. Furthermore, the depreciation of the Naira against the dollar reduces the real value of these earnings.
Many artists do not register their music or “notify” CMOs of their works correctly, leading to “unclaimed” or “black box” royalties that remain unpaid. A lack of a uniform, centralized database makes it difficult to track usage.
Despite the Copyright Act of 2022, enforcement remains weak due to limited resources, corruption, and slow judicial processes, making it difficult for artists to sue for infringements.
These issues create a significant “value gap,” where massive popularity for Nigerian music does not translate into proportional income for the creators.
Our Reporter
