SA: Fifi case should be a lesson to artists

Fifi Cooper, whose real name is Refilwe Mooketsi, along with stable mates B3nchmarQ and A-Reece, announced their departure from the label in February this year. A-Reece, who is also embroiled in a legal matter with AE, released the single ‘Loyal’, a song about the alleged exploitation that took place at the label and how artists were receiving salaries of less than R20 000 ($1 500) a month.  

“I left because I had a lot of questions between me and my boss Kgosi [Mahumapelo] about finances,” Mooketsi told the Sowetan newspaper. “There was a time that I got involved in an accident and he didn't want to give me an advance."

Soon after leaving AE, the ‘Kuze Kuse’ hitmaker launched her own label, MoCooper Records, and this week released her debut video under the stable.

The interdict served by the South Gauteng High Court restricts her from performing or receiving royalties for the music she recorded while at AE. She has also been requested to pay back any royalties she earned from performing her songs and pay the legal costs AE incurred.

“She is to pay royalties and damages to AE, which will be determined by conducting an enquiry in terms of Section 24 of the Copyright Act,” the interdict reads.

Section 24 of the Copyright Act states that “infringements of copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the owner of the copyright, and in any action for such an infringement all such relief by way of damages, interdict, and delivery of infringing copies or plates used or intended to be used for infringing copies”.

Official Statement: High Court Matter Between Ambitious Group (PTY) (LTD) and Fifi Cooper. pic.twitter.com/st8OdhDZKM

— Ambitiouz Ent (@Ambitiouz_Ent) November 27, 2017

Music In Africa spoke to Catherine Marcus, a paralegal at creative legal company Legalese in Cape Town, to get a general understanding on the dynamics between record labels and artists where copyright is concerned.

Asked whether the company could claim all royalties, Marcus said that without knowing the exact terms of the Mooketsi-AE contract, no conclusions could be made at this point in time. This after Music In Africa made repeated attempts to contact the record label to no avail.

“If the agreement states that the copyright in the songs belongs to AE, then AE has the right to earn royalties off the songs. This means that every time she performs a song, she's ‘using’ something that belongs to AE,” Marcus said.

“This applies even if Mooketsi was part of the creative process. Some record deals assign all copyright to the record company. If there's an agreement that states that AE owns the music, then the artist can't do what she pleases with it. It's not unusual for a record label to own the entire body of work of an artist.”

When a musical work is created the author of the work is automatically assigned ownership of the copyright. But according to Section 22 of the Copyright Act, “copyright shall be transmissible as movable property by assignment”.

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have vowed to help Mooketsi fight against AE by providing the rapper with legal representation. The political party accused the label, which is run by Kgosi Mahumapelo, the brother of North West Premier and ANC member Supra Mahumapelo, of corruption.

We are always on the side of the weak and the dejected. Wipe your tears African Girl, very soon you will sing your beautiful songs again. Proper legal team is assembled to help #FifiCooper against the powerful. #JusticeForFifiCooper pic.twitter.com/uMiRMOZpHs

— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) November 28, 2017

Marcus said artists should scrutinise the contracts they sign with record labels and evaluate the nature of the agreement.

“Record labels have a reputation of being notoriously unfair to artists, which in many cases can be true,” she said, adding that before signing a contract artists should look at how much control they have over their work, the duration of the contract and the value they receive compared to the value they invest in the record company.

Watch Fifi Cooper’s first video under MoCooper Records below: