Artistes risk losing royalties due to COSON crisis, Ruggedman warns

Veteran rapper Ruggedman says there is no transparency in how royalties are shared to artistes in Nigeria.

He lamented the ongoing crisis in the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), saying it “seriously affects” the artistes.

The crisis has resulted in the suspension of the operating licence of the organisation while a possible revocation looms.

Ruggedman told TheCable Lifestyle on Thursday that the seemingly unending saga may result in a situation where artistes will lose their royalties.

“It seriously affects the artistes and industry in royalties and right now there is no transparency in how money is been collected and how it is shared to the artiste,” he said.

“With the intending revocation of the COSON’s licence looming over everybody and artiste not getting their money, it means that there will be no more money for the artiste once the licence is revoked.

“If the licence gets revoked eventually, I hope the investigations will still be carried out.”

Olisa Adibua, an ace broadcaster, lamented the fact that artistes find it “difficult” to receive their royalties.

“I’m deeply saddened at the way royalties in the entertainment industry were been handled and it pains me that it’s difficult for the artist to get their royalties,” he said.

He likened royalties to pensions, saying it is the sweat of artistes’ years of labour.

“Royalties are like pensions paid to government workers at the end of each month,” Adibua added.