N1.2bn Copy Levy Payment: PMAN Lauds President Tinubu, Calls For Nationwide Beneficiaries’ Verification

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

The Performing Musicians’ Employers Association of Nigeria, PMAN has commended President Bola Tinubu on the approval and release of the N1.2 billion being the first tranche of the Copyright Levy in line with Section 89 of the Copyright Act 2022.

Mr. Pretty Okafor, National President, PMAN, in a statement Tuesday described the payment as a historic milestone for the creative economy.

“This moment aligns squarely with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration—an agenda that seeks to position the creative industry as a viable contributor to national productivity, employment, exports and sustainable prosperity,” Okafor said.

The Copyright Levy is a statutory mechanism provided for under Section 89 of the Copyright Act 2022, which contemplates a levy on materials used or capable of being used to infringe copyright, and the proper disbursement ecosystem through the Nigeria Copyright Commission, NCC.

The Levy concept has existed within Nigeria’s copyright legal architecture since 1988, but remained largely unimplemented until President Tinubu’s administration took the necessary steps to activate it in practical terms.

PMAN President then expressed deep gratitude to President Tinubu for the political will and administrative clarity that ensure the first tranche of the levy was processed and made available to the artistes through NCC to the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Limited, MCSN.

PMAN also appreciates the support and institutional commitment of the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; Director-General of the NCC, Dr. John Ohi Asien and MCSN CEO, Mr. Mayo Ayilaran, leading to the implementation of the Levy framework to move the creative economy from sentiment to structure and from applause to accountability.

Okafor emphasized that this is not politics but economic reality as the eventual disbursement of “the fund will certainly reach the grassroots and every Nigerian creator, no matter where they are located, in order to begin to actually lift poor musicians out of deep poverty.

“That’s the spirit of the Levy —broad-based, welfare-oriented, and designed to reflect the realities of copying and reproduction in a modern digital economy.

“Our position is that Nigeria’s system must protect legitimate right owners and ensure that lawful benefits reach real creators—performers and producers— rather than opportunists, gatekeepers or counterfeit claimants,” Okafor stated.

The PMAN President added that PMAN is the only legally recognized union/association of performing musicians and employers of musicians, and this includes stakeholders across the performing and production ecosystem.

He disclosed that as part of strengthening protection for performers and improving industry compliance, PMAN has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the MCSN on July 1, 2020 for the practical protection of performing musicians’ rights.

“This collaboration is not ceremonial. It is built for outcomes—compliance, accountability, and improved welfare for performers whose labour powers the Nigerian music economy,” Okafor stated.

He added that for clarity sake, “PMAN is not the entity disbursing or paying the Copy Levy to individual musicians. Our role or duty, as the legally recognised union/association of performing musicians and employers of musicians nationwide, is to ensure that a credible, verified database of real performing musicians exists across urban and rural Nigeria, and that eligible members are not excluded due to misinformation, intimidation, or fraudulent lists.”

Okafor then enjoined every performing musician to participate in the ongoing Copy Levy Beneficiary Verification by registering on the PMAN National Database which he described as “a constitutional tool and not a publicity stunt”.

The PMAN President also encourages musicians to take the additional step of registering appropriately with the MCSN as their Collective Management Organisation and to maintain proper documentation of their creative output.