Intellectual property body slams Liberian musicians

The body’s acting director-general Theresa Thomas said a month-old drive for Liberian musicians to register their music for free has not yielded significant results.

“We are working very hard to create the environment where they can make money from their careers, but they are not supporting us with this noncompliant posture,” Thomas said. “They need to understand that their music is their asset and should be treated in a respectful way.

"However, this is not the case, a situation which is making the whole thing frustrating and unbelievable.”

“We have conducted countless workshops that focus on intellectual property, yet they leave these workshops without implementing what they have been taught. However, at the end of the day, they expect to play magic that will lead to the development of a music industry. That is totally impossible. We cannot have a well-functioning and collective management organisation (CMO) when a vast majority of the musicians don’t value intellectual property. It is hard to work with people who you want to help but who don’t want to be helped.”

Reports from other countries indicate that the apathy towards issues regarding copyright are not exclusive to Liberian acts. Royalties collection and the registration of members by CMOs have been the source of controversies in Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana and other countries.

Thomas said it was “total stupidity” for musicians to hand over rights to their music in exchange for promotion. “It is highly unbelievable that they would spend money to produce music and then give it out free in the need of promotion, without thinking about protecting it to get those legal rights to own the song.”

Nonetheless, the programme will continue. “We might be frustrated by their actions,” she said, “but we will still work to get things done the right way.” Already Thomas’s office has said it will embark on a campaign to educate the public on elements of intellectual property.