It’s really been a full year, and as I count my blessings, I am grateful to have the capacity to execute these things, serve people, build brands and uplift the visions of corporate organizations. It has been a long year of heavy work, but also fully rewarding. The slides below showcase the details.
In this new year, I look forward to it with more hope, God’s grace and strength to scale new heights and embark on new adventures. 2025 was a good year, and I thank God for it.
Reading “Bamboozled by Jesus” by Yvonne Orji has really been an amazing discovery.
She brings such a refreshing, real and raw revelation of her life lessons and rise in purpose, fame, and success.
One that isn’t so common or easily found in the Entertainment Industry. Where living boldly as a follower of Jesus Christ with an intentional discipline to stay grounded, relevant, excellent in craft and consistent in faith can indeed be scarce.
This book is such an encouragement and comfort. A warm hug for anyone who feels like they are falling behind in time, the schedules of life, dreams and aspirations.
It explores processes, the highs and lows, disappointments, and everything in-between to the orchestration and exposure to God-sized dreams becoming a reality.
As always, she shares such hilarious moments, bringing joy and laughter to readers. Her brand and signature of communication shines through, even with this book.
This isn’t a book that can be rushed. You most likely would take time in-between chapters to savor, and take to heart the lessons and insights shared.
A timeless read. This is a book to be grateful for. I know I am.
A highly recommended read, authored by the amazing comedian and Emmy-nominated Nigerian-American actress, Yvonne Orji (@yvonneorji).
Reading “How Women Rise” by Sally Helgensen and Marshall Goldsmith has really been an eye opening book.
In reading this book, business owners, and leaders across all levels, particularly women, will certainly certainly experience a mind shift.
For centuries, women have continued to accomplish outstanding feats.
However due to many constraints (economic or environmental, self imposed) and limiting thought patterns, the progressive contributions and innovations in business and leadership by women across all sectors has received less recognition than it deserves.
In reading this book, you would learn a whole lot:
1. You will learn to embrace your strengths. 2. You will learn to identify your weaknesses, self sabotaging habits and how to overcome them. 3. You will learn how to enlist the right help and strategic support needed to forge ahead. 4. You will learn about the importance of effective communication, speak up for yourself, your work and your accomplishments. 5. You will learn the importance of setting the right boundaries, saying ‘No’ to the wrong opportunities and saying ‘Yes’ to the right opportunities 6. You will learn the importance of authenticity and why this is crucial to your progressive movement as a leader and woman. These and lots more are turning points from reading this book.
With case studies and real stories of people that remain memorable and relatable, this is certainly one book you will enjoy reading alone or with friends! A highly recommended read, authored by @sally_helgesen and @coachgoldsmith.
My current read “Soar!” is such an insightful book. The first few chapters have been captivating, vivid and practical.
Written by an author and a very dynamic individual. An Icon and Giant with tangible and sustainable results.
There is a lot to learn for those who long for more. Those willing to take risks, and step out to explore their full potential.
Maybe this may entail running an enterprise, a corporate organization, a non-profit or a path that requires going beyond average; raising the bar to soar high. The bottom line is, to rise, run, fly and soar, we must be equipped in stages.
Pilots only fly successfully with the guidance of the Control Tower. This requires adherence to instructions, precision of actions and direction. It’s the same for us.
To Soar high in certain areas of life, our endeavors and purpose, we must be ready to pay attention to exceptional individuals who walk the talk. Applying their insights and instructions with precision.
If this is you or what you desire, then I encourage you to get this book.
From this book you will also get a glimpse of his life as well as tested and trusted principles. Wisdom that can only be found from those who have walked the path of process, time and purpose for impact.
Soar! by T. D. Jakes is a great read and highly recommend.
It’s time to build your vision from the ground up!
In 2020, Nigeria was named home to the ‘largest’ music industry in Africa and undoubtedly continues to gain local and global attention; due to numerous internationally award-winning musicians, artists, managers, producers, promoters, record labels, marketers, and distributors. This global attention also extends to international recognition, comprising innumerable international performances and collaborations with renowned foreign artists and record labels.
Background
The Nigerian music industry has birthed several genres of music with a hearty mixture of hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and gospel as it continues to flourish in the spotlights; as a result, one might be curious about what the financial and economic implications are for these artists and Nigeria as a whole.
According to Statista Research Department[1], This industry’s revenue grew from 26 million U.S. dollars in 2014 to 34million U.S. dollars in 2018 and is estimated to generate about 44million U.S. dollars by 2023. This contributes a tremendous amount to Nigeria’s GDP[2], which was 448.1 billion U.S dollars in 2019 only.
For this article, we would be considering the importance of protecting the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) [3] of creatives in the Nigerian music industry.
Further considering how profitable this industry currently is, one would envisage that ‘top’ safety measures are put in place to secure the intellectual properties of these creatives from infringement both locally and internationally. One would expect that these creatives fully profit from their works without undue hindrance.
However, that is not the case as there is an unusual norm that plagues both the upcoming and the ‘biggest’ artists in the Nigerian music industry. There is an inability to protect IPR from infringement.
CASE STUDY
According to Celebrity Net Worth[4] Wizkid is a Top Nigerian singer, performer, and songwriter who has a net worth of 4 million U.S. dollars. He is widely recognized across Africa and in the Afrobeat community, reaching international prominence by collaborating with famous persons in the music industry such as Drake, Beyoncé, Tyga, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer to name a few. After working with other high-profile musicians, Wizkid branched out into the mainstream music scene. Being the first Nigerian citizen to amass 1 million followers on Twitter; He is undoubtedly one of the most famous Nigerians of all time.
Wizkid V. Wisekid
A Wizkid imposter ‘Wisekid’ set up to illegally profit from copying Wizkid on the digital space. ‘Hosea Yohanna’[5] an upcoming Nigerian artist; acquired millions of streams in just 7 months, starting from October 2020 by cloning Wizkid’s ‘Made in Lagos’ album with his album named ‘Lasgidi Made’ having 9.3 million plays and 1.2 thousand purchases on Apple music alone.
The similarities of both names were unmistakable, and though the album songs had different lineups, all Names were the same. Even the songs sounded similar. Wisekid also went ahead to create a clone Twitter and Instagram account with the handle ‘@wisekidaya’ which was indisputably made to look just like Wizkid’s handle ‘@wizkidayo’ for both accounts having a following of over 8.4 million on Twitter and 12.1 million on Instagram.
Wisekid was discovered sometime in early April 2021 by Wizkid fans when he posted screenshots of his Lasgidi Made album streams on his Twitter page captioned ‘on God’, stirring up so much controversy. After ‘@africafactzone’ on Twitter reported that he was making 30 million Naira monthly, which amounts to about 79 thousand U.S. dollars from copying Wizkid.
Wisekid replied to that tweet stating, “…I’m just an upcoming artist, I know nothing about this…” He also tweeted that ‘Freeme Digital’ distributed all his songs and said that he had no idea, ‘Freeme Digital’, however, stated that although they distributed his old songs, the album Lasgidi Made was never one of them.
Although Wizkid did not respond to the social media frenzy, one of his managers ‘Jada Pollock’ shared on her Twitter that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) had begun working on taking down the album. Lasgidi Made was taken off of Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify. Consequently, the wisekids Twitter account got suspended.
Akinyemi[6] Opined that ‘Wizkid’ had become a trademark attached to the person ‘Ayo Balogun’, his public ‘goodwill’ building for over 10years. Therefore such ‘goodwill’ is attached to the name Wizkid. He explained; that the trademark was associated with a certain level of excellence. Hence, whatever bears such a mark would attract the loyal audience of the brand who associate it with excellence and cause them to consume its products.
Consequently, if unauthorized persons benefit from the name Wizkid by exploiting or posing as though such a name belongs to them, the person named ‘Ayo Balogun’ the owner of the registered Copyright and Trademark to that name, has the right to bring legal actions against such individuals.
The Benefits of Protecting Intellectual Property Rights[7]
Protects it against infringement by others and ultimately defends in the courts your sole right to use, make, sell, reproduce or import it.
It stops others from using, making, selling, reproducing, or importing it’ without your permission.
It earns you royalties by licensing it.
It may be exploited by way of strategic alliances.
You can make money by selling it.
A farmer, who owns farmland with cattle and cash crops before he starts farming, puts up a fence around his property to protect it. That, in turn, prevents his cattle from straying and also discourages persons from trespassing. The farmer protects his farm and yields a lot of profit in return. Such a farmer experiences little or no loss in his business.
Similarly, if a person would put a fence around his physical property to protect it, what stops an artist from putting measures in place to protect his intellectual property(IP) of great value? Could it be due to the extreme intangible nature of IP; that he does not know how to protect it? Or has he refused to do so for other reasons?
Reasons Why Creatives Do Not Protect Their Intellectual Properties
There are hosts of reasons why creatives do not protect their IP. These reasons narrowed to a few such as;
Lack of awareness.
Attempting to do it yourself (DIY).
Refusal to seek professional assistance (or simply believing that it is not necessary).
Financial concerns.
The “Till I’m big” Mindset.
Reasons as these often pose ‘major’ threats to IP growth and development in the Nigerian music industry. Nevertheless, there are ways in which one can protect their IP rights.
How To Protect The IP Rights of Creatives in the Music Industry
Akinyemi Ayinoluwa, a Music and IP lawyer and partner at Hightower solicitors and advocates, stated in his interview[8] with Entertainment News that; regardless of the persistent problems of creation safety, artists still have options. He noted that the best way for an artist to protect their works is by constantly policing all aspects of their IP.
He further stated that handlers should always be on the lookout for infringements such as Copyright and Trademark, as seen in the case study above. Akinyemi advises that there would always be those who would try and illegitimately exploit the works of others. However, a creator must always be alert and have an infrastructure or Team that constantly policies IP rights.
Recommendations
The writer advises that every creative must prioritize the protection of their works from the onset. Such can either be by way of Copyright, Trademark, or Trade secret protection. No idea or creation is too little; so long it is the creator’s IP.
Creatives may not be able to stop infringers, but they can adequately protect themselves by being aware of their IPR, seeking professional help, and constantly keeping the IPR under scrutiny. Not only does this discourage infringers, but it also gives creatives full access to enjoy and exploit the benefits accruing from their works without interruption.
Conclusion
Creatives at various levels get affected by intellectual property infringement; no one is out of the grasps of this menace, big, small, upcoming, or established. There are always those seeking to take advantage of the IPR of others and make an undue profit. Others ride on the goodwill of creatives which they have worked hard to establish over time. Therefore one must be on the watch at all times.
Article by Ibukun Adeyemi. LL.B 2020 || Intellectual Property Law and Media and Entertainment Law Enthusiast || Legal Assistant.
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