By Dorcas Jonah

The new copyright law in Nigeria is filling important gaps in today’s digital content age and will be useful to combat online piracy and loss of revenue especially in Nollywood, an intellectual property law expert, Prof. Samuel Andrews, says.

Nollywood employs more than a million people directly or indirectly, making the sector Nigeria’s second largest employer after agriculture. In 2022, Nollywood’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP stood at 0.1%.

It is Africa’s most successful film industry and the third largest globally after Hollywood and Bollywood in terms of the number of movies produced annually.

In a new paper for The Conversation, Andrews, a U.S Ambassador’s Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Intellectual Property Law, lauded the new copyright law and praised its coverage of contemporary piracy issues faced by creators in the Nigerian entertainment space.

According to him, the new law has the potential to create stability and predictability in industries like Nollywood. This is a positive step towards a more diversified national economy – and economic growth.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on March 17, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Copyright Bill, 2022. This Act, known as the Copyright Act of 2023, repeals the Copyright Act of 2004.

Among other key issues, the new law recognises and protects creative works that are based on current digital productive technologies.

It covers films, music, performances, literary works and performances enabled by the internet and wireless devices through streaming techniques, uploads, hyperlinks and air-drops.

The new copyright law includes a “safe harbour” provision which protects Nollywood entrepreneurs from unnecessary legal suits.

As Andrews explained in the paper, “for example, online service provider business is an emerging technology that requires huge investment and is vulnerable to illegal actions.

“People upload unauthorised content on an online platform and this can result in lawsuits which affect investors in this sector.

”The safe harbour comes with responsibility on the part of the online service provider: it must quickly remove unauthorised content and must not benefit financially from it,” Andrews stated.

He said the new law also gives copyright owners ways to resolve disputes over ownership of online content without necessarily going to court.

Speaking further about execution, Andrews noted that it will be important to allow the courts to do their job.

He explained that trying to settle disputes through the Nigerian Copyright Commission – which is a new option – could complicate and prolong the litigation.

Andrews said this might discourage investment in the creative industry. (NAN) (www.nannew.ng)

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi

By Mateen Badru

A content creator, Chuke Chinemelum, popularly known as Danceglitch, has called for more focus on the dance sector of the entertainment industry.

Danceglitch, a dance artiste, actor, aspiring filmmaker and a creative director, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

The skitmaker with over 10 million followers across his social media platforms (Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter), said the dance sector receives less attention despite the fact that dance is an integral part of human culture.

“I do Dancemedy, which is a combination of drama, dance and comedy. I decided to creatively carve out a unique niche for myself and that was the birth of Dancemedy.

“Dancemedy cuts across comedy, dance and drama. It involves telling short funny stories through dancing. So, when I perform or create, I am motivated by the desire to create a meaningful experience for my audience.

“The dance sector of the entertainment industry, however, often receives less attention than other art forms such as music, film, and theater.

“Despite the fact that dance has been an integral part of human culture for centuries, it is often overlooked and underfunded,” he said.

Danceglitch said that budding dance artistes could be encouraged by creating a platform where they can easily showcase their talents.

“One way to encourage young and budding dance artistes and content creators is to provide them with more opportunities to showcase their talents. This can be done through workshops and special trainings regardless of socio-economic status.

“Additionally, it is important to provide financial support and resources to dance organisations. This can help to ensure that they are compensated fairly for their work and have access to the training and resources they need to thrive.

“Another way to tap into the dance sector is to utilise technology to make dance more accessible to wider audiences.

“For example, virtual reality technology can be used to create immersive dance experiences, and live streaming can allow people to watch performances from anywhere in the world,” he said.

The content creator urged government to beam its focus light on the dance sector while he commended the resources on ground presently aiding the sector.

“While I have not personally received any direct support from the government or organisations, I am grateful for the resources and opportunities that are available to dance artistes and content creators,” he said.

He further encouraged young content creators to be consistent and not get discouraged by challenges as there would always be one.

“To all the young people who are passionate about their unique art, I want to say that you are amazing. Pursuing your pasion as a career can be challenging, but don’t let that discourage you.

“If you are creative and willing to put in the time and effort, you can achieve your dreams and become successful.

“Being a dance artiste and a content creator is not just about technique and skill, but also about expressing yourself creatively and telling a story. So, keep exploring new movements, styles, and genres and never stop learning and growing as an artiste.

“The most important thing is to embrace your unique style and let your creativity shine through. With hard work, dedication, and a positive attitude, you can achieve anything you set your mind to,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Folasade Adeniran

By Ikenna Uwadileke

Some leisure spot owners in Abuja on Monday decried low patronage during the Easter festivities.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) they blamed the low patronage on economic hardship triggered by inflation, insecurity and cash crunch.

According to Istifanus Nanu, the Manager, Taminus Garden, Asokoro, sales have significantly decreased compared to 2022.

“During the Easter period in 2022, we had more sales.

“This may be because there was cash available but this time around we are recording low patronage.

“I think the people are economising the cash they have,’’ Nanu said

Julius Eke, the Chief Executive Officer of Islands Bar and Lounge at Guzape, said that he observed a decrease in the number of customers.

“Customers are no longer coming as before and this did not just start with the Easter, we started observing the decline since the currency redesign was introduced,’’ Eke said.

On his part, Mr Fidelis Ehizoje, owner of a beer parlour in Karu, said that weekends when he usually made around 80 per cent in sales had seen a dramatic decrease to 60 per cent.

“The increase in the price of drinks and other things we sell here is not just the problem; the major problem we are facing is the price of diesel, fuel, and electricity bills ,” Ehizoje said.

“The increase in price in beers, wine, catfish and other things can be adjusted to the customer but the prices of diesel and fuel are taken from the company’s account which can ruin the business.

“More so, we are experiencing challenges with electronic transactions whereby some people come and buy things but cannot make electronic payment successfully.

“I want to urge the authorities to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place to enable seamless electronic money transfer.

“This is important because it will help our business. Many customers lament lack of cash and this is affecting our sales drastically,’’ Ehizoje said.

Some customers blamed their irregular visit to leisure spots on inflation.

Mr Emeka Anosike, who said that he used to be a regular customer to leisure spots, expressed concern over the increasing cost of things.

He said “I like to visit the gardens to watch football particularly on weekends but the high cost of things is scaring me away nowadays.

“Previously, my brand of beer was N500 but now it is N700.

“I used to buy an average sized roasted fish for N2, 000, but the price has jacked up to N2, 500 and in some cases N2, 800.

“If the trend continues, the chances of visiting leisure spots would reduce,’’ Anosike said.

Another customer, Mr Sampson Salewa, said that in spite of the challenges, insecurity was a major factor that discouraged him from going to leisure spots.

“But with the improved security situation, I am comfortable going to leisure spots to unwind particularly during festive periods.

“You may have heard people saying a lot about the importance of tourism in many regards.

“When one elaborates on its economic effects, I am more interested in its impact on my life,’’ Salewa said.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s headline inflation rate rose to 21.91 per cent in February 2023 compared to 21.82 in January, indicating an increase of 0.09 per cent.

The price of diesel also increased from about N600 per litre in 2022 to over N800 in some parts of Nigeria, putting unprecedented stress on the economy and threatening businesses in the country.

The report comes as Nigerians begin to witness relief after two months of naira scarcity occasioned by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese Ekama

By Taiye Olayemi

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN)  says it generated N441 million from tickets sold across the country in March 2023.

The National Chairman of CEAN, Mr Opeyemi Ajayi, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

Ajayi said  the total admission of viewers into cinemas across the federation for the period under review was 174,071.

“For March, we had total sales of N441,752,914 across all cinema with 174,071 viewers admission into cinemas.

“Sales in March was encouraging compared with February when we recorded total sales of N278 million due to activities of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as the national problem of cash crunch.

“For April, we will be  showing Super Mario Bros, Domitila, Bloomboys, Honey Money, Renfield and The Pope’s exorcist,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Yakubu Uba/Chioma Ugboma

By Patience Aliyu

Ms Julie Mckay, U.S. Cultural Affairs Officer in Nigeria, has assured the creative industry of her country’s partnership for the growth of the sector.

She gave the assurance while inspecting facilities at the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) during a tour of cultural sites, Museums and the National Film Institute (NFI) on Friday in Jos.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the envoy had visited the Film Corporation on Thursday and had meetings with its management board.

Mckay, who had earlier met with the NFC both in Abuja and Jos, reiterated her country’s determination to partner with the Film Corporation to boost youth development.

“Since we spoke last week, we have already brought U.S. filmmakers to Nigeria, they are in Lagos now and will be in Abuja next week.

“I think we do agree that more interaction between the film industries in the United States and Nigeria is mutually beneficial, so we are certainly looking to do that.

“Building creative industries, helping Nigeria build their creative industries is one of our priorities, and so we really look forward to working with you on that.

“One of our main priorities is opportunities for youth, and so we have many opportunities for young people, a lot for entrepreneurship.

“We will be opening an opportunity for the academy for women entrepreneurs, and they could be filmmakers, there are a lot of opportunities and the U.S. wants to be strong partners with Nigeria in this area,” she said.

Responding, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, Managing Director/Chief Executive of NFC, expressed joy at the development, saying that when the opportunity came, he would ensure making the most use of it.

He noted that this would mean an opportunity to reduce unemployment while engaging the youth in the country.

“I am really excited, I am also hopeful because I know that whenever America enters into the fora, they come as heavyweights, so our relationship cannot be the same after this visit.

“We expect that the handshake between Nollywood and Hollywood will now have some more interaction.

“I am going to deploy the opportunity to expand the institute to exponential capacities that are waiting for such an opportunity to expand.

“We are going to multiply that capacity so that Nigerian youths can have more equipment in a way to pursue their God given talent or unlock the potential to become creators of wealth.

“I believe the creative industry is a low hanging fruit, our relationship with the United States will enable us to squeeze our juice from unemployment to employment,” he said.(NAN)(nannews.ng)

Edited by Nkiru Ifeajuna/Idris Abdulrahman

By Taiye Olayemi

Busola Tejumola, Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice, on Tuesday disclosed that the eighth edition of Nigerian Idol would begin April 23 and run till July 16.

Tejumola during a media briefing in Lagos said the live performances for the show would also run from May 28.

She said the winner of this year’s edition of the show would walk away with N35 million cash prize with overall grand prize worth N100 million, including gift items, which would be disclosed later.

“This time, we are having our judges back, Obi Asika, Simi and D’Banj would be retained as judges as well as Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa as the host of the show.

“We decided to retain them because they succeeded in doing a great job during the 7th edition, bringing their unique personalities to the show and it emerged the best so far.

“The 8th Nigerian Idol will air on Africa Magic Showcase, Urban and Family. It will also air on an extra channel- channel 199, every Sunday at 7.00.p.m.

“This edition promises to unveil another set of great talents among Nigerian youths,” she said.

Tejumola disclosed that there was a 10 per cent increase in the number of entries received for the eighth edition of the show.

She acknowledged the headline sponsors of the show- Techno and Bigi; the tactical sponsors- Waw, Close-up, Tom-Tom and many others.

She appreciated the sponsors for their quest to contribute their quota to the growth of the entertainment industry.

“Nigerian Idol over the years has provided our audience with premium entertainment, the contestants with healthy competitions in their performances that drive to the emergence of the winner.

“Nigerian Idol will continue to offer talented artistes platform to show the continent what they can do and the opportunity to rise to fame through hard work and dedication.

“It is the right space to gain access to mentorship through the judges and couches who will expose the intricacies of the industry to the young talents.

“We invite all to join us in this journey of self discovery,” she said.

Speaking on his company’s involvement, Biola Aransiola, Assistant Brand Manager, Bigi, said “We are happy to be here, it is a big platform to help talents grow in Nigeria.

“We want to be that partner that holds them hand-on-hand to achieve greatness.”

Also, Mr Thompson Ani, Techno Marketing Manager, said “We are here bigger and better, we like giving back to the communiy, we are coming as headline sponsor this time because we want people to see the hidden talent in individual Nigerians.

“We are coming bigger this year.  So, expect something big.” NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited by Folasade Adeniran

By Taiye Olayemi

The National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) has called on its members to promote and maintain peace in their works.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Israel Eboh, National President of NANTAP on Monday in Lagos.

He said that theatre practitioners should be willing and ready to educate, inform and be conscience of the society, using their ability to tell the truth.

Eboh said that their works must not project political, tribal or religious sentiments.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Theatre Day is celebrated on March 27 annually with 2023 theme as: “Theatre and a Culture of Peace”.

“It is another day to celebrate theatre, as practitioners, we recognise our place as the mirror and conscience of our societies in building a better world for today and tomorrow.

“As we join the global thespian family in celebration of this year’s day, we want to celebrate ourselves because collectively, we are survivors of the many challenges that have faced us last year.

“We are survivors of many battles, armed conflict, economic, environmental, social and political that we have had to confront in the last one year.

“As theatre practitioners, it is our noble call as theatre practitioners to teach those ideals that promote our peaceful co-existence by constructing bridges that connect us as one big, happy family,” he said.

Eboh said that theatre practitioners must work more on producing theatre that heals, invigorates and offers hope for a peaceful world to impact the nation positively.

He said practitioners should remain reliable compass pointing the nation in the direction of peace.

“ We must become the storytellers that change the narrative by stopping to romanticise and glorify the culture of violence as a sign of “macho strength”, when we can promote peace as the greater strength.

” For us to impact the world, we must first heal our collective wounds as a nation. Our theatre must embody hope and not hopelessness.

“Our theatre must spread the seeds of peace and not that of hatred, even in the face of political uncertainty that continues to threaten our hopes.

“We must remain the reliable compass pointing our nation in the direction of peace,” he said.

The president urged the Federal Government to provide an environment where justice, equity and utmost safety can be achieved, in order to ensure seamless operations.

“As enshrined in the UNESCO constitution, “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed,’’ he said.

” Our theatre must be the theatre of hope and truth that the nation desires. We owe it as a debt to use our theatre to help shape and create a better, and a more peaceful Nigeria.

” We are blessed with the voice that elicits attention.We have the platform and a captive audience as we celebrate the World Theatre Day 2023.

It  is our collective responsibility to ensure that our theatre becomes the voice that promotes the Culture of Peace,” he said. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh

By Taiye Olayemi/Ronke Ojediran

Spotify, an online streaming platform, held its 2023 “Stream On” programme, unveiling features and tools to build career of artistes, podcasters and music creators.
Daniel EK, Spotify’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), during the virtual programme said this was necessary to aid deeper and long-lasting connections between music creators and listeners across the globe.
He said Spotify doubled down on discovery, revealing a reimagined interface that leverages new visuals and a completely new and interactive design.
According to him, one of the features which is the “new Spotify experience” will roll out in waves beginning today to over 500 million monthly active users of Spotify.
He noted that with “Smart Shuffle”, Spotify was introducing a new way to inject new music that perfectly complements an existing playlist with just the tap of a button.

He said building on the success of podcast previews, creators can choose or have Spotify automatically generate preview of their music and podcasts for users to sample before they play or save.

“Just like with music, Spotify will now serve autoplay for podcasts. When a podcast ends, another episode will automatically start playing that fits the user’s tastes and is relevant.

“Stream On is about all the ways we are bringing Spotify to life and letting creators at all stages of their careers know that we are open for business.

“We are focused on building the best home for them – a place where they can establish a career, thrive and grow and where the world can be inspired by their creativity.
“And that is what we have been doing for almost 17 years: building, improving and reimagining this home to better meet creator needs and help them chart new pathways to success.
“As we look to the future, we are excited to expand that ambition to even more creators across new formats.
“We are enabling more creativity, discovery and personalisation than ever before by providing the best resources, support, and interactivity,” he said.
The CEO also unveiled new and enhanced tools to help creators build and grow audiences which would help artistes find the fans who will love their music most.
He shared more details on the next revenue line to help artistes grow – merchandise and live.
He also announced the rollout of additional podcast features.
“Spotify for podcasters now brings together the best of Spotify’s podcast creator tools into a one-stop shop to create, manage, grow and monetise podcast content.
“Previously, Spotify’s most innovative features were limited to anchor users exclusively, but the company is building the new Spotify for podcasters in a way that offers more open access to innovation.
“As a result, all Spotify for Podcasters users—including those not hosting their content on Spotify, will find access to Question and Answer and Poll functionality in their dashboards.
“Starting today, when all creators sign up or log in to Spotify for Podcasters, they will find a dashboard with everything they need to make, manage, and level-up their show,” he said.
He also announced new and expanded Spotify Originals and Exclusives.
“Spotify and DC Comics will launch a new podcast series, The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark which will be led by Phantom 4 and filmmaker, novelist, and comic book writer, David S. Goyer.
“Fans can expect all of the beloved characters from the “Batman Unburied” series.
“Today, there are more than ten million creators on Spotify with over half a billion listeners across 184 countries and markets.
“Think about the massive potential that represents for creators. No matter where you are on your own creative journey within music, podcasts or audiobooks.
“The potential to reach half a billion people. And that reach is about to become more powerful with what we’ve introduced today,” he said.
Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer, said , “Spotify recommendations drive close to half of all users’ streams. And when listeners decide to follow a creator, they listen to, on average, five times more of their music.
“That’s why discoveries on Spotify, unlike many other platforms, give creators so much more than just a fleeting moment of viral fame.
“Those meaningful, long-term connections are a key part of what makes Spotify a platform for professional and aspiring artistes”. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited by Folasade Adeniran