President of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) Pretty Okafor has called on musicians, especially those in the grassroots, to participate in the Copy Levy Beneficiary Verification by registering on the PMAN national database.
Okafor recently made this statement during a media briefing at the PMAN headquarters in Lagos. Okafor recently made this call at a media parley at the PMAN headquarters in Lagos.
While thanking President Bola Tinubu for his political will and administrative clarity in ensuring the first tranche of the Copyright Levy under Section 89 of the Copyright Act 2022, Okafor also acknowledged the leadership and support of the Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, as well as the commitment of the Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) Director General, Dr John Asein, and Mayowa Ayilaran, CEO of MCSN.
Okafor said, “This moment aligns with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope agenda, which appears to position the creative industry as a viable contributor to national productivity, employment, exports, and long-term prosperity. The implementation of the Levy framework is more than just a policy announcement; it is an institutional signal that Nigeria is ready to transition the creative economy from sentiment to structure, from applause to responsibility.
“It is critical to educate the public about the legal and historical implications of what has happened. The Copyright Levy is not a private arrangement or an optional ‘gift’. It is a statutory mechanism established by Section 89 of the Copyright Act of 2020, which includes a levy on materials used or capable of being used to infringe copyright and the proper disbursement ecosystem via the NCC. In fact, as MCSN correctly points out, the levy concept has existed in Nigeria’s copyright legal architecture since 1988, but it was largely unimplemented until this administration took the necessary steps to activate it in practice.
“It must be stated unequivocally that Copy Levy is not the same as routine copyright royalties. Royalties are typically derived from uses such as public performance, broadcast, reproduction, or other exploitation of copyright, which is managed through authorised structures.”
The PMAN president added that the fund is intended to reach the grassroots and every Nigerian creator, regardless of location.
He encouraged musicians to register with MCSN as their Collective Management Organisation (CMO) and stated that PMAN would compile verified entries from its national database and provide them to MCSN to support a credible, auditable disbursement process for eligible performance.
There was also a clarification that copy levies are not royalties.
PMAN vice president Olamuyiwa Aralola, also known as Ara, encouraged musicians to register, while rapper Vector urged artists to be interested in what is going on in the industry.
