Based on your summation, its obvious you dont know how music intellectual property works. I own a music publishing company which supplies and licenses music to Film (Motion Picture), TV (MTV, VH1, CMT, all Cable networks etc) and Record Labels ( Young Money and Atlantic). I have been in this business for many years. My son owns his own record label.

Its very easy to steal a song. Unknown to many the act of a copyright is once you create something, which makes it complicated. Hence people register a copyright, but by registering it doesn’t necessarily mean you did it first.

In my experience I have seen this happen multiple times. An example ( this actually happened to us) a Record Label wants to hear a demo, you send it, they dont like it but in the process of playing it their inhouse producer hears it, likes elements and decides to use parts of it. From a legal point of view this is illegal, he is not allowed to use even ONE second without your permission, but it gets complicated since how can you prove this.

The song Blurred Lines is a very good example. For anyone who knows music especially golden oldies like me, you would have picked up that this is actually the beat that Marvin Gaye used in Got to Give it Up. If you play the first 15-20 seconds you will think its Blurred Lines. This song was produced by Pharell and made by Thicke and TI. They are now in dispute with the trustees of Marvin Gayes copyrights about it. According to you then Pharell, Thicke and TI have also exposed their business foolishness.

What possibly happened is that during his tenor with DJazzy, they may have worked on something. Since we all know that Wande Cool doesn’t produce music, Djazzy does, at least half of the ownership belongs to Djazzy. If this is so Djazzy is absolutely right in saying he should have been informed. Now this is the Nigerian scene so I dont know what more will come out of it, but if this were here, Wande would be in deep.

Its pretty harsh accusing someone of foolishness, if the claimant has little knowledge about the subject matter.

yunfazz: As written by Ms. Uduak Oduok who is an Entertainment Attorney


I began writing, yesterday, about the recent potential legal drama between Don Jazzy and Wande Coal to discuss the alleged claim of Intellectual Property theft and legal issues present, which I will still do, albeit on a different post. However, while writing, I just got tired, like really tired of the state of the industry and the foolishness being served of late.

Eyin Nigerian artists eti su mi, really (you Nigerian artists make me weary, really). Sheesh. Y’all can be off the hook, many times. You’ve got a grown man and so called boss for that matter such as Don Jazzy displaying foolish behavior of the highest order on twitter; and crying about a problem he created in the first place.

What are we supposed to do Don Jazzy? You are the business man, you also should have some scars to show from the epic Mo’Hits fallout/ dissolution that you “get it.” Didn’t you at least learn something from that? What’s good? I really tiyah, for real.

ON A DAY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALL ABOUT TIWA SAVAGE’S RELEASE OF HER SONG ‘EMINADO’(Goodluck charm) featuring Don Jazzy, Don Jazzy totally pooped on that parade and brought the bad luck charm by undermining Tiwa Savage’s shine with his silly cries on twitter about an alleged theft by his former artist.

Are Wande Coal and Don Jazzy mates? What rubbish?! Why is Don Jazzy, the egbon (older one and adult) and most importantly the boss getting on twitter and stooping down to this kind of level as a business owner and leader in the industry? It is embarrassing and unacceptable. It also is ridiculous because from the facts, HE CREATED THE PROBLEM.

How can you not have your split sheets in place as a producer? I don’t care if the artist is your mother, father, sister, brother, girlfriend, wife, gay partner or what have you. You get that in place!

How, at this point in your career, do you get into a studio with your artist and not delineate the lines on who owns what? If you made music under Mavin Records, the music belongs to Mavin, if you signed the proper legal documents evidencing this basic arrangement. You’ve got the sound recording belonging to Mavin. The lyrics and composition also probably belong to Mavin, at least a large portion, given the kinds of agreement I see artists sign with labels in Nigeria with certain aspects in music publishing that differs from us here in the States, so why are we even here?

You clearly did not do this because Wande Coal can produce the original demo song of which he co-authored with you; with no delineation of those rights spelt out. Are we suppose to cry or be sad for you? Why?

As Wande Coal correctly indicated in his tweet, Jazzy has Coal’s phone number and contacts and could have easily contacted him to resolve the dispute, privately. He did not do so. Instead, he chose to follow an impulsive, selfish and egotistical act on twitter that instantly shifted the attention from the release of Tiwa Savage’s beautiful ‘Eminado’ video, all in less than twenty four hours, to a showing to the world that Nigeria’s music industry and its leaders have no focus, no direction and is a big joke.

When was the last time you saw any of the label heads in the USA, including Jimmy Lovine, Diddy and even Kanye West get on twitter to fight artists who allegedly steal their work?

Okay. Hold up. Wait a minute. Don Jazzy, if you are invoking the law and claiming infringement of your “intellectual property” what exactly are we doing on twitter? That’s all legal speak which means lawyers get involved to either help work things out and get you compensated on some licensing deal, for the sampling or explicit copying of your work, or we get into the courtroom. What are we doing on twitter?

I am truthfully exhausted with the frequency/rate of foolishness coming out of the industry from leaders and industry professionals at large. It is alarming and you should be worried about the state of this music ecosystem, if you care both about your country and music, in general. This is unacceptable.

Don Jazzy owns Mavin Records. Tiwa co-owns 323 with T-Billz. Shouldn’t Don Jazzy at this point in his career know that he undermines the marketing and selling of Tiwa Savage’s song with this foolishness? What’s the brand partnership agreement they signed? Anyone have a copy because there should be a clause preventing this kind of behavior. Yes, I am really tired with the foolishness.

Our industry is just looking a big mess and very stupid to me right about now. We look foolish both locally and internationally. We act stupid with our business ventures, we are very reactionary on social media, we let egos get in the way, from the likes of Jason Njoku to his ex-CEO Michael Ugwu. Y’all didn’t think that I thought Ugwu came with clean hands did you? He was one of the first shouting on AML, right here, when I questioned the rapid jump and growth of IROKO into the music market under IROKING, about how I was dead wrong and all the m/billion page views IROKO received blah, blah.

Well, what happened? Ugwu was the CEO of IROKING, and he did not deliver. That was his terrain. Granted Jason Njoku’s egotistical self got in the way and he released the foolish press release that created what has to be the worse PR and disgraceful employer/employee and pr fail ever for a new brand; but nevertheless, what the heck? IROKING is being scrapped under Ugwu’s watch as CEO. What happened to all the “b/million” views et al. Ugwu had a responsibility to also deliver.

Have y’all heard of Chinedu Echeruo? The Nigerian-American who created HotStop in New York and this year allegedly sold the company to Apple for $1Billion? For all the years Echeruo helped build and operate his company,you never heard the fella display the kind of ego that he should arguably display. As he said, he checked it at the door, and today, we all point to him as a shinning example of what a successful Nigerian owned business and entrepreneur should look like.

Can we all take a page from Echeruo i.e. have a healthy dose of humility, get your entertainment business in order and have even more humility? Who said it would be easy? Practice!

Our industry was exciting, fun, young and filled with so much hope but in less than two years, it looks a shamble. From 9ice, Mo’Hits, Knight House, Storm 360 to eLDee (I am unsure why everyone keeps leaving Trybes Records, including Sarz, of late), EME, to Chocolate City and so many other labels in between, you gotta ask, what the heck is going on? Our creativity is at an all time low and we spew nonsense both on our airways and in our music videos thinking we can sustain this industry with the mess. Industry, what’s really good? Is this it? Like are we for real? Many of you who read AML are industry leaders. What’s really good, leaders? Seriously?

Artists walking out on label and management deals like they are visiting red light districts for one night stands, labels with no basic music business skills promising artists heaven and earth and getting screwed, plus left with heavy debts to deal with, diarrhea on twitter from industry heads and professionals who should know better as a means to resolve their legal issues and the list goes on. Common folks, give me a freaking break!

We want to be like the West, yet we lack the common sense to set the legal precedent and have our Nigerian courts determine legal issues that can move our society forward; to ensure the sustainability and success of our industry. Jesus, what’s with this foolishness? Really? Why do we as a community of business owners and industry professionals keep choosing to display juvenile behavior on social media platforms that really undermine the industry; and also affect our sister industries like fashion and film?

We are now at an age where the young ones look up to us and WE MUST respect ourselves with our dealings in front of them and with them. The baton has passed on to us and we are doing a terrible job as it stands with how we carry on with the business of music and resolving our issues. If we have issues with our young ones, then sort them out privately because if we can’t respect those behind us, guess what, they won’t respect us either and what lies ahead will not be pretty for us.

I, for the life of me, have no idea why we are even here. Can anyone tell me? Oh! Don Jazzy says Wande Coal stole his song from him. Don Jazzy at every step of this particular brouhaha clearly failed to protect the alleged rights stolen, which is unacceptable from a seasoned businessman, artist and music producer WHO WAS THE LABEL BOSS FOR A YOUNG MAN THAT HAS WORKED WITH AND LOOKED UP TO HIM FOR HIS ENTIRE CAREER! But, oh! We are suppose to cry with him on twitter. Because why?

Oh! And don’t get me started on COSON, MCSN and all the other entities adding to the current foolishness in the industry.

*Sigh* I’m tired from all the foolishness. Sheesh.

-Uduak


http://africamusiclaw.com/don-jazzy-v-wande-coal-can-the-foolishness-coming-out-of-nigerias-entertainment-industry-its-leaders-stop-already-entlaw/

ballabriggs: Foolish post, why did I open this rubbish.

If you call a man voicing out over the theft of his intellectual property foolish, then you really need to get your brain checked. The id0t called Wande had Don Jazzy's number, he did not deem it fit to contact Jazzy before releasing the song. Not even a line on the song to give credit to Don Jazzy and you expect the man to keep quiet about it.

Did you respect him when you stole his work? OP you need to grow up. You probably have never sweated in your life to get a job done. How then can you know how it feels to have your work stolen.

and blaberring and throwing tantrums on tweeter is d solution abi? U b suegbe.

MeBoo: Only God knws wen Don jazzy will grow up..
Always acting like a kid

Cos you call him Don doesn't mean he is smart. Is he not 29 abi how old again?

Ok....don Jazzy Bleep up abi..eeyah...Let him deal wit it na**back to my business**

Na 'em sabi jor!

The truth is that most of the Nigerian artists are so short sighted...they are not looking at the career and business angles of being an artist.
Don Jazzy has nothing to gain from his twitter rants,not even public sympathy at the level he makes us believe he is operating, an entertainment lawyer should have handled all legal issues...I now believe Dbanj was the brain behind their initial successes...since he left, Jazzy has been making news in feilds other than music, instead of consolidating his position as Nigerias (some say Africas) no 1 producer. Moreover,what song is it that Wande has made that he is so scared of...or is it the sharing formular that he is scared of,or is he getting broke.....?

russianmob27:

I am the that crazy nigga

ur case na yabaleft,ur english self na die

The person who wrote/ created this topic, time don reach for u to write book o!
Na wa o! Ordinary fight wey some mumu pple fight for twitter...na u dey write story book untop.
*signs of joblessnes* SMH

.

bt criously e pain don Jazzy gan o....d guy dey kuku struggle for d 3rd abi 4th single ni..hw many song d guy dn sing ,make 1 person cn dey steal 'm again.

Nice analysis bro, though I beg to differ on the 48 laws of power written by roberte greene as a rule to checkmate your excesses and maintain your status in power.

There are exceptions to every rules, and besides, the 48 laws of power contradicts itself if you are conversant with the book. That book is not applicable to the African society for it is written for a more decent and organized society. If you really want learn how to maintain power in africa, go and read Machiavelli's book the prince. That is the raw and unrefined rules to maintain power in a continent like Africa.

Obasanjo was always ranting and shouting on his enemies as a president even on live presidential chats with journalist, yet, he was the boss and outlived his two-term presidency. Goodluck is a quiet man, he hardly talks, look at how people are tossing him around like a governor. Lets see if he will outlive his own two-tenure presidency. Time will tell.

On don jazzy's reputation and actions instead of words. Donjazzy has already been demystified long time ago. After his split with dbanj, we came to know a lot about him and the mystery surrounding him. On his actions, do you think that any action he takes, will not come out to the media? Anyway, I am with you on him doing that on twitter, he would have done it on a more palatable platform considering his "status".

In all no one has been a boss or at the top of his game forever. where is kennis music now? storm records? even chocolate city of recent is on the verge of collapse. When its your time to be at the top of your game make use of it fine and you will live the rest of your live enjoying. Go and ask OJB Jezreel. Live and let live. No amount of rules and laws will make you be at the top forever. Donjazzy has tried and should just start to re-invent himself.

pro01: I'd have to admit that Don Jazzy goofed on this, big time. Even if he eventually 'wins' by proving that Wande Coal 'stole' that song, it would be a mere pyrrhic victory in the end. He has much more at stake than whatever minor financial gain the so-called song can offer. This is not about who is right or wrong. It is about priceless public perception and the bigger picture.

As Otipoju rightly noted, Don Jazzy flouted many important laws of power. I think two of the most important laws he flouted are Law 5: "So much depends on your reputation - guard it with your life", and Law 9: "Win through your actions, never through argument".

Dude has a reputation for humility in spite of his 'larger than life' persona. By hounding and threatening a small fry like Wande Coal over an inconsequential song, he risks being perceived as an arrogant bully. Furthermore, his subsequent tweets after Wande Coal's response made him seem petty, bitter, and desperate - three utterly anti-seductive traits. . . . Dude needs to read more Robert Greene to help him stay in check. My 2 cents.

OP you are very stewpid. You are accusing someone on taking issues to twitter, while you are venting your anger on nairaland which is Nigeria twitter.
See kettle calling pot black.
If we didnt see this write up on nairaland very few people would know about this , therefore you are the one over emphasing this issue.
Those other names you mentioned were irrelevant to this topic.
Lastly, learn to summarize write ups!
This is not a newpaper house but the internet.

Up Dbanj...The Banga lee of all time

Dis Akwa Ibom woman don open a legal or even illegal battle. Com open naija entertainment n Don Jazzy yash. Callin it headless nd unfocused. Now wey una? O boi... see grama. Dis babe use illigal grama i mean lawya grama com confuse mi. Na so so yes,ur right i com dey say. Mek i stop readin my mind told mi no tri am. Sey she go sue mi to court. Dis babe no taya oo. Mek una no mek am start with rest she mension below. I know sey dis babe paleh get too much landed properti for villa. Who wan try ein paleh? mek dat babe use majestrate grama wound am.

Uduak i hail ooh. In fact i choose u to my law.

Pls who is don jazzy, does he sell jazz or wat, and wande coal, hw many coals does he want

otipoju: Don Jazzy messed up bigtime with that his rant on twitter. He gave the impression that he was transferring his frustration from his fallout with Dbanj to an innocent Wande that he believes he could handle.

He disobeyed several laws of power that ended up demystifying him as the Don he claims to be. Really disgusting that he did not call Wande one on one first and deal with him man to man.

1. Don wey dey sweat to make music... meaning he is not special and anyone can replicate what he has done.

2. Don wey no fit protect him territory.... so porous anybody can steal from him

3. Don wey him boys no dey fear... a real Don inspires fear in his. subordinates

4. Don wey dey cry instead of to take action... a real Don keeps his emotions in check especially publicly.

5. Don wey dey spell ''intellectual'' as ''interlectual"... am sure he was blinded with tears as he typed those words.

Did you ever see Abramovich rant on twitter before sacking Ranieri,Scolari,Ancelloti, Di matteo,or even Mourinho the special one.
Now that is a real Don.

But Wande u sef give am credit ,you know that he has missed you saying "Don Baba" when u sing and Dbanj saying "its Don Jazzy again"

You killed it mehn! You too much!

slightlyMad: Well, obviously OP is in Wande's camp.

depending on how you view this, it's a clear message to other artists who think they can shine by stealing his songs.
well, he killed wande coal's hard work on that song and that is a smart way to deal with a mushin boi
you can't know wande better than Jazzy, u know!

As for shifting attention away from Eminado, that's crap cos Oduah's car scam, etc are stories that could cause same effect, they do not affect people's lifestyle so stop sounding like it's big stuff

If you dont know Poko is Poko today cos of twitter, and trust, foreign artists do get dirty on twitter too
i just hate how we use the west as our yardstick. can an American drag a bus conductor off a moving vehicle over N10?
shows we are African. and should remain African.

If you don't know, that brouhaha may be an attempt to give the song the needed attention, by both parties.
even ur rants who knows. don't believe everything you read on twitter.

Seconded! The Op article is one-sided. If Wande can release an obvious copy-right ( this time his ex boss/friend) without informing the owner, the owner could as well call him out without informing him. Yes, this shows Don Jazzy is a weak leader but also it shows Wande doesn't have respect for intellectual property.

BTW, I'm a big Wande fan. I have loved him since the days of mohits. I thought and still think he's the most talented in the bunch.

Now I see Don Jazzy's reputation gradually coming down. It would affect the reputation of the remaining artists still signed with him. Not even giving out recharge cards on twitter can save him from this.

yunfazz: [s]As written by Ms. Uduak Oduok who is an Entertainment Attorney


I began writing, yesterday, about the recent potential legal drama between Don Jazzy and Wande Coal to discuss the alleged claim of Intellectual Property theft and legal issues present, which I will still do, albeit on a different post. However, while writing, I just got tired, like really tired of the state of the industry and the foolishness being served of late.

Eyin Nigerian artists eti su mi, really (you Nigerian artists make me weary, really). Sheesh. Y’all can be off the hook, many times. You’ve got a grown man and so called boss for that matter such as Don Jazzy displaying foolish behavior of the highest order on twitter; and crying about a problem he created in the first place.

What are we supposed to do Don Jazzy? You are the business man, you also should have some scars to show from the epic Mo’Hits fallout/ dissolution that you “get it.” Didn’t you at least learn something from that? What’s good? I really tiyah, for real.

ON A DAY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALL ABOUT TIWA SAVAGE’S RELEASE OF HER SONG ‘EMINADO’(Goodluck charm) featuring Don Jazzy, Don Jazzy totally pooped on that parade and brought the bad luck charm by undermining Tiwa Savage’s shine with his silly cries on twitter about an alleged theft by his former artist.

Are Wande Coal and Don Jazzy mates? What rubbish?! Why is Don Jazzy, the egbon (older one and adult) and most importantly the boss getting on twitter and stooping down to this kind of level as a business owner and leader in the industry? It is embarrassing and unacceptable. It also is ridiculous because from the facts, HE CREATED THE PROBLEM.

How can you not have your split sheets in place as a producer? I don’t care if the artist is your mother, father, sister, brother, girlfriend, wife, gay partner or what have you. You get that in place!

How, at this point in your career, do you get into a studio with your artist and not delineate the lines on who owns what? If you made music under Mavin Records, the music belongs to Mavin, if you signed the proper legal documents evidencing this basic arrangement. You’ve got the sound recording belonging to Mavin. The lyrics and composition also probably belong to Mavin, at least a large portion, given the kinds of agreement I see artists sign with labels in Nigeria with certain aspects in music publishing that differs from us here in the States, so why are we even here?

You clearly did not do this because Wande Coal can produce the original demo song of which he co-authored with you; with no delineation of those rights spelt out. Are we suppose to cry or be sad for you? Why?

As Wande Coal correctly indicated in his tweet, Jazzy has Coal’s phone number and contacts and could have easily contacted him to resolve the dispute, privately. He did not do so. Instead, he chose to follow an impulsive, selfish and egotistical act on twitter that instantly shifted the attention from the release of Tiwa Savage’s beautiful ‘Eminado’ video, all in less than twenty four hours, to a showing to the world that Nigeria’s music industry and its leaders have no focus, no direction and is a big joke.

When was the last time you saw any of the label heads in the USA, including Jimmy Lovine, Diddy and even Kanye West get on twitter to fight artists who allegedly steal their work?

Okay. Hold up. Wait a minute. Don Jazzy, if you are invoking the law and claiming infringement of your “intellectual property” what exactly are we doing on twitter? That’s all legal speak which means lawyers get involved to either help work things out and get you compensated on some licensing deal, for the sampling or explicit copying of your work, or we get into the courtroom. What are we doing on twitter?

I am truthfully exhausted with the frequency/rate of foolishness coming out of the industry from leaders and industry professionals at large. It is alarming and you should be worried about the state of this music ecosystem, if you care both about your country and music, in general. This is unacceptable.

Don Jazzy owns Mavin Records. Tiwa co-owns 323 with T-Billz. Shouldn’t Don Jazzy at this point in his career know that he undermines the marketing and selling of Tiwa Savage’s song with this foolishness? What’s the brand partnership agreement they signed? Anyone have a copy because there should be a clause preventing this kind of behavior. Yes, I am really tired with the foolishness.

Our industry is just looking a big mess and very stupid to me right about now. We look foolish both locally and internationally. We act stupid with our business ventures, we are very reactionary on social media, we let egos get in the way, from the likes of Jason Njoku to his ex-CEO Michael Ugwu. [/s]

too many bros

Why do they always run to twitter anytime they have issues?

Vin saint: Dis Akwa Ibom woman don open a legal or even illegal battle. Com open naija entertainment n Don Jazzy yash. Callin it headless nd unfocused. Now wey una? O boi... see grama. Dis babe use illigal grama i mean lawya grama com confuse mi. Na so so yes,ur right i com dey say. Mek i stop readin my mind told mi no tri am. Sey she go sue mi to court. Dis babe no taya oo. Mek una no mek am start with rest she mension below. I know sey dis babe paleh get too much landed properti for villa. Who wan try ein paleh? mek dat babe use majestrate grama wound am.

Uduak i hail ooh. In fact i choose u to my law.

Na true you talk o! If Don Jazzy ever read this, he fit faint o! *SMH*

@op. Are you the one that wrote terms and conditions? Too long abeg. But don for no display this kind of emotions in public. Anyways, na naija Don sha.

I listened to this song they are shouting about and it was all crap which only makes me remember the theme song of 'fuji house of commotion' cos that was how it goes, only for the lyrical differences.

All y'all talking abu how naija youths are too lazy to read, should stfu. That was a short story elongated unecessarily.. Each paragraph says the same thing in different words, its maddening.

furthermore.. the lad in the first page who accused don jazzy of spelling intellectual as intelectual is too ignorant to know that twitter only allows 140 words.

in conclusion.. how e take affect the price of garri for market?

dirtymoney:
just 2 likes for all this your analysis.
you can do better bro.

Last i checked,it was 12 likes...so ''YOU'' can at least make an attempt to get a single ''like''. Its not as if u get paid for every liked comment!

Even at the height of the Bad Boy Entertainment and Deathrow, we didnt hear the voice of P Diddy, Dr Dre or Suge Knight the 2 that was making noise are 2Pac and BIG may be snoop dog.

Don Jazzy should have known better

lymelyte: All u guys ranting n writing all type of sh1t shld get urselves examine. Una nor go sch? How can u say dis epistle is long? This comes to show how lazy nigerians are in reading and assimilating...

no. shows how allergic we are to reading craps, sh***ts and bull**shi**ts. written by one biased calabar woman who knows nothing about music, entertainment and law.

yunfazz: As written by Ms. Uduak Oduok who is an Entertainment Attorney


I began writing, yesterday, about the recent potential legal drama between Don Jazzy and Wande Coal to discuss the alleged claim of Intellectual Property theft and legal issues present, which I will still do, albeit on a different post. However, while writing, I just got tired, like really tired of the state of the industry and the foolishness being served of late.

Eyin Nigerian artists eti su mi, really (you Nigerian artists make me weary, really). Sheesh. Y’all can be off the hook, many times. You’ve got a grown man and so called boss for that matter such as Don Jazzy displaying foolish behavior of the highest order on twitter; and crying about a problem he created in the first place.

What are we supposed to do Don Jazzy? You are the business man, you also should have some scars to show from the epic Mo’Hits fallout/ dissolution that you “get it.” Didn’t you at least learn something from that? What’s good? I really tiyah, for real.

ON A DAY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALL ABOUT TIWA SAVAGE’S RELEASE OF HER SONG ‘EMINADO’(Goodluck charm) featuring Don Jazzy, Don Jazzy totally pooped on that parade and brought the bad luck charm by undermining Tiwa Savage’s shine with his silly cries on twitter about an alleged theft by his former artist.

Are Wande Coal and Don Jazzy mates? What rubbish?! Why is Don Jazzy, the egbon (older one and adult) and most importantly the boss getting on twitter and stooping down to this kind of level as a business owner and leader in the industry? It is embarrassing and unacceptable. It also is ridiculous because from the facts, HE CREATED THE PROBLEM.

How can you not have your split sheets in place as a producer? I don’t care if the artist is your mother, father, sister, brother, girlfriend, wife, gay partner or what have you. You get that in place!

How, at this point in your career, do you get into a studio with your artist and not delineate the lines on who owns what? If you made music under Mavin Records, the music belongs to Mavin, if you signed the proper legal documents evidencing this basic arrangement. You’ve got the sound recording belonging to Mavin. The lyrics and composition also probably belong to Mavin, at least a large portion, given the kinds of agreement I see artists sign with labels in Nigeria with certain aspects in music publishing that differs from us here in the States, so why are we even here?

You clearly did not do this because Wande Coal can produce the original demo song of which he co-authored with you; with no delineation of those rights spelt out. Are we suppose to cry or be sad for you? Why?

As Wande Coal correctly indicated in his tweet, Jazzy has Coal’s phone number and contacts and could have easily contacted him to resolve the dispute, privately. He did not do so. Instead, he chose to follow an impulsive, selfish and egotistical act on twitter that instantly shifted the attention from the release of Tiwa Savage’s beautiful ‘Eminado’ video, all in less than twenty four hours, to a showing to the world that Nigeria’s music industry and its leaders have no focus, no direction and is a big joke.

When was the last time you saw any of the label heads in the USA, including Jimmy Lovine, Diddy and even Kanye West get on twitter to fight artists who allegedly steal their work?

Okay. Hold up. Wait a minute. Don Jazzy, if you are invoking the law and claiming infringement of your “intellectual property” what exactly are we doing on twitter? That’s all legal speak which means lawyers get involved to either help work things out and get you compensated on some licensing deal, for the sampling or explicit copying of your work, or we get into the courtroom. What are we doing on twitter?

I am truthfully exhausted with the frequency/rate of foolishness coming out of the industry from leaders and industry professionals at large. It is alarming and you should be worried about the state of this music ecosystem, if you care both about your country and music, in general. This is unacceptable.

Don Jazzy owns Mavin Records. Tiwa co-owns 323 with T-Billz. Shouldn’t Don Jazzy at this point in his career know that he undermines the marketing and selling of Tiwa Savage’s song with this foolishness? What’s the brand partnership agreement they signed? Anyone have a copy because there should be a clause preventing this kind of behavior. Yes, I am really tired with the foolishness.

Our industry is just looking a big mess and very stupid to me right about now. We look foolish both locally and internationally. We act stupid with our business ventures, we are very reactionary on social media, we let egos get in the way, from the likes of Jason Njoku to his ex-CEO Michael Ugwu. Y’all didn’t think that I thought Ugwu came with clean hands did you? He was one of the first shouting on AML, right here, when I questioned the rapid jump and growth of IROKO into the music market under IROKING, about how I was dead wrong and all the m/billion page views IROKO received blah, blah.

Well, what happened? Ugwu was the CEO of IROKING, and he did not deliver. That was his terrain. Granted Jason Njoku’s egotistical self got in the way and he released the foolish press release that created what has to be the worse PR and disgraceful employer/employee and pr fail ever for a new brand; but nevertheless, what the heck? IROKING is being scrapped under Ugwu’s watch as CEO. What happened to all the “b/million” views et al. Ugwu had a responsibility to also deliver.

Have y’all heard of Chinedu Echeruo? The Nigerian-American who created HotStop in New York and this year allegedly sold the company to Apple for $1Billion? For all the years Echeruo helped build and operate his company,you never heard the fella display the kind of ego that he should arguably display. As he said, he checked it at the door, and today, we all point to him as a shinning example of what a successful Nigerian owned business and entrepreneur should look like.

Can we all take a page from Echeruo i.e. have a healthy dose of humility, get your entertainment business in order and have even more humility? Who said it would be easy? Practice!

Our industry was exciting, fun, young and filled with so much hope but in less than two years, it looks a shamble. From 9ice, Mo’Hits, Knight House, Storm 360 to eLDee (I am unsure why everyone keeps leaving Trybes Records, including Sarz, of late), EME, to Chocolate City and so many other labels in between, you gotta ask, what the heck is going on? Our creativity is at an all time low and we spew nonsense both on our airways and in our music videos thinking we can sustain this industry with the mess. Industry, what’s really good? Is this it? Like are we for real? Many of you who read AML are industry leaders. What’s really good, leaders? Seriously?

Artists walking out on label and management deals like they are visiting red light districts for one night stands, labels with no basic music business skills promising artists heaven and earth and getting screwed, plus left with heavy debts to deal with, diarrhea on twitter from industry heads and professionals who should know better as a means to resolve their legal issues and the list goes on. Common folks, give me a freaking break!

We want to be like the West, yet we lack the common sense to set the legal precedent and have our Nigerian courts determine legal issues that can move our society forward; to ensure the sustainability and success of our industry. Jesus, what’s with this foolishness? Really? Why do we as a community of business owners and industry professionals keep choosing to display juvenile behavior on social media platforms that really undermine the industry; and also affect our sister industries like fashion and film?

We are now at an age where the young ones look up to us and WE MUST respect ourselves with our dealings in front of them and with them. The baton has passed on to us and we are doing a terrible job as it stands with how we carry on with the business of music and resolving our issues. If we have issues with our young ones, then sort them out privately because if we can’t respect those behind us, guess what, they won’t respect us either and what lies ahead will not be pretty for us.

I, for the life of me, have no idea why we are even here. Can anyone tell me? Oh! Don Jazzy says Wande Coal stole his song from him. Don Jazzy at every step of this particular brouhaha clearly failed to protect the alleged rights stolen, which is unacceptable from a seasoned businessman, artist and music producer WHO WAS THE LABEL BOSS FOR A YOUNG MAN THAT HAS WORKED WITH AND LOOKED UP TO HIM FOR HIS ENTIRE CAREER! But, oh! We are suppose to cry with him on twitter. Because why?

Oh! And don’t get me started on COSON, MCSN and all the other entities adding to the current foolishness in the industry.

*Sigh* I’m tired from all the foolishness. Sheesh.

-Uduak

Dear Ms. Uduak Oduok,

I know you are an Entertainment Attorney and I would be "foolish" to want to debate with you on this topic; but I have a few observations which I would like to share.

1. Your write up, or should I call it a "discuss"; comes off more as a transcript to a verbal argument than a material for reading. You carelessly used the word FOOLISH in several sections to express your disgust for their actions (Don Jazzy's especially). This seemed pretty harsh and unnecessary for someone of your academic status. Your view on the matter also seemed very biased and unattached to the reality that we are Nigerians and not Americans.

2. Your paragraphs were more of vents than of sharing valid legal clarifications to drive home the essence of your "discuss". Making comments like

yunfazz: "However, while writing, I just got tired, like really tired of the state of the industry and the foolishness being served of late."

and more comments like

yunfazz: "Eyin Nigerian artists eti su mi, really (you Nigerian artists make me weary, really). Sheesh. Y’all can be off the hook, many times."

made you sound like a law undergraduate gossiping about a dispute she witnessed in the common room of her hostel.

3. Clearly Don Jazzy did not have the stomach to digest what had just happened so he reacted. No one subscribes to going on twitter to vent but please cut the brother some slack. You dissected him like he committed a crime against humanity (or should i say "against the entertainment industry". If his plan was to expose Wande Coal as a fraud by going on twitter..... take it or leave it; it worked! It sure would leave a sour taste in his mouth for a while but hey... this is Nigeria, everyone forgets and moves on.

4. Once again I read through your lonnnnnnnng write up and I think the reason why people complained about its length was because it lacked the depth of concrete logical criticisms. Next time you want to vent, please go on twitter and make it short.

Wink!!!

God bless you Pbundles... ppl who dont know shit about real stuff keep spewing trash... exposing their ignorance and illiteraacy...

What is with Twitter and Nigerian so called celebrities?? Anyway I don't give a POOP about it

still watching!