The Lagos State Government on Thursday said that plans were underway to make laws that would empower Nigerian artistes to gain access to their full royalties from their record labels.
The state Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, disclosed this during an interview session with members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism, in Lagos.
Benson-Awoyinka spoke against the backdrop of the premature death of Nigerian artiste, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, who was denied access to royalties allegedly held by his record label owner.
The commissioner said this was one of her plans to ensure that the entertainment industry becomes more attractive to up-and-coming artistes.
She stated, “One of the focal areas that we will be looking into in the ministry is the music industry. We need to clean it up and set the artistes on the right path.
“We need to bring the law into our system, we don’t want the case of Mohbad happening again in Lagos.
“This is because we have learnt a good lesson that as a government, we must also learn to play our part. In that space, we will do the necessary things.
“We will help in looking into the artistes’ legal agreement and documentation. There is no point in being a rising star and having only 15 per cent right to my music.
“Mohbad died young, the whole world is listening to his music and somebody is benefiting from his royalties, who is not his family and this shouldn’t be so.
“We, as government, will take it upon ourselves to make sure that doesn’t happen again to any other child in Lagos.”
