Steve Black
Steve Black, a multitalented musician and one of the veterans of the Nigerian music industry has heaped praises on the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji and his team on the tremendous work they continue to do in ensuring music copyright is respected and music continues to pay.
The musician who has a studio in his home where he creates contemporary music mixed with timeless melodies of the 70’s and 80’s made this known in a press interview.
Said Black when asked about how he thought the music industry could achieve unity despite the endless crisis in the Performimg Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and the copyright world: “It will be difficult to achieve unity in the music industry now, because those that have taken over do not have any idea about the industry, unlike back in the days when mature musicians were in charge.
“If the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) is handed over to those jokers, it will become another PMAN before one year, but the maturity of Chief Tony Okoroji, the Chairman of COSON, and his team keeps COSON going. Okoroji has a very good team because he is mature.
“When Okoroji left PMAN, everybody wanted to be president, but they were not mature to know that the PMAN presidency is not a lifetime thing; so if they were matured enough, they should have had patience with each other, instead of spending time in court and achieving nothing.
“Okoroji as president turned PMAN into a big brand, which was recognised by the society and what did they do after he left? They destroyed the brand and killed it because of greed and lack of ideas. They also had secretaries that had long throat for money, and they were collecting money from every Tom, Dick, and Harry with the promise of making them PMAN president. Is the PMAN presidency for sale?”
The COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, it will be recalled, in his 2020 “No Music Day” statement also called for unity in the music industry, when the celebrated former PMAN President and Intellectual Property expert said “we must reiterate our position and remind Nigerian musicians that our problems will not be solved until we stop the bickering and factionalisation in our industry which most times are exploited to keep us down. We must work together in the interest of our country and the young people who look towards us for guidance. We must understand that in a democracy, there will be alternative points of view. Each alternative view should not result in the setting up of an alternative faction. We must learn to work towards achieving a common goal”.
Plans are already in top gear for this year’s “No Music Day” celebration which holds every September 1.
No Music Day is a day the music industry in Nigeria dedicates annually to bringing the attention of the Nigerian nation to the widespread infringement of the rights of song writers, composers, performers, music publishers, record labels and other stakeholders in the nation’s music industry.
