I am currently processing the license and clearance for a song that was made by (an artiste) client for an international deal.
A United States-based company wants to acquire the right to the songs from my client (the artiste) so they can legally use it in their production.
Here is the twist; my client (an upcoming artiste), made a remix to a popular song that was initially released by a popular Nigerian star. The US-based company (for reasons best known to them) prefers the remix of the song made by my client who is an upcoming artiste to the original song made by the popular singer.
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The issue now is who owns what rights to the remixed song that is to be purchased. Can the popular star who is the main originator of the song claim the right to both the original song he made and the remix made off the original song by my client?
This issue is peculiar to almost every Nigerian artiste and their record label. They find it difficult to distinguish the intellectual property rights of every individual who joined in the production and making of the song own in the song, especially if the song later becomes a “hit” song.
Now here is the law according to the general rule of intellectual property and music law:
Unless there is an otherwise agreement made by the parties involved, When an artiste remixes a song, even if he reproduces the song from the production to the composition of the song, in as much as he re-voiced the original lyrics of the song; the artistes only have master rights to the song but the original composer of the song that was remixed has the publishing and reproduction right to the song.
It does not matter that the remix maker of the song changed some words, phrases, or patterns of the song, in as much as there is a similarity in the lyrics of the original song, it will be said that he merely re-voiced the lyrics and the publishing rights to the song still vest in the original composer of the song.
This is not to say that the remix maker and the original composer of the song cannot enter into an agreement that states otherwise; hence the reason for the initial caveat. This general rule only comes into play when there is no prior agreement or contract between the original composer of the song and the remix maker.
