MohBad: Lagos govt to assist artistes on legal agreement, documentation

Following the controversies that surrounded the death of hip-hop star, Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad, the Lagos State government has resolved to enact laws that would enable artistes to gain access to their full royalties.

The state’s Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, disclosed this during an interactive session with members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism on Thursday in Lagos.

She said the plan was to ensure that the entertainment industry becomes more attractive to up-and-coming artistes.

Benson-Awoyinka stressed that artistes would no longer be cheated out of their intellectual property or denied access to royalties by their record labels and the owner going forward.

“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.

READ ALSO: Mohbad cousin breaks silence on circumstances surrounding late singer’s demise

“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 percent right to my music.

“Mohbad died young, the whole world is listening to his music and somebody who is not a member of his family is benefiting from his royalties. 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,” the commissioner stated.

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