Musician seeks stiffer laws against piracy

A  female musician, Doyinsola Olatunji, popularly known as ‘Doyinsola,’ on Wednesday urged the Federal Government  to promulgate stiffer laws that would curb piracy in the entertainment industry.

Doyinsola, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on the telephone, said that government must be proactive in the fight against piracy.

“Government should give the right punishment to culprits, stop the street hawking of intellectual materials and create more awareness among the general public about the damage piracy does to the individual and the economy at large.

“Until the Federal Government introduces strong measures and laws, and implement it to punish those involved in piracy, it may be difficult to stop piracy.

“The Alaba guys make billions from our brains and works, while the artiste that put in their sweat remains poor. Some get frustrated and resort to crime and illegality.

“Songs are aired and artistes are not paid royalty, instead it’s the other way round. Piracy in Nigeria is as bad as it sounds. It is theft of intellectual property.

“After putting in efforts and resources into production, some individuals will decide to pirate your work when you’re yet to make your profit or even break even.

”They rob you of the income you could have made from your intellectual material and render you helpless.

“Most people have fame without money these days as a result of this piracy issue. You just see their faces everywhere, but they don’t have anything to show for it.

“From the perspective of a musician now, sometimes you even put your songs on sites where people can buy them, but in a matter of days they are everywhere for free download.

“Piracy is everywhere and eating deep by the day. Thousands of pirated compact disk are produced everyday and you find them everywhere on the streets.

“The fight against piracy has been on for a very long time. The truth is it might not be easy to completely stop piracy but it can be curbed.

“We keep fighting against it like we fight against fake and adulterated drugs, ”she said.

NAN reports that Doyinsola graduated from Bowen University, Iwo, Osun and participated in the 2007 Star Quest Reality Show where her group came fourth.

She has released five singles and worked with the likes of Abolore Akande a.k.a. 9ice,  Olanrewaju Fasasi a.k.a. Sound Sultan, Babatope Temidayo a.k.a. Puffy Tee and Oluwole Adebayo a.k.a. Indomix.