MACMILLAN Creative Autonomy, Copyright and Popular Music in Nigeria

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the unique structure of the Nigerian popular music industry. It explores the dissonance between copyright’s thematic support for creative autonomy and the practical ways in which the law allows singer-songwriters’ (performing authors') creative autonomy to be subverted in their contractual relationships with record labels. The book establishes the concept of creative autonomy for performing authors as a key criterion for sustainable economic development, and makes innovative legal and policy recommendations to help stakeholders preserve it. Review “This book dissects the laws that hold the Nigerian music industry together. It is a crucially needed guide for building mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships.” ― Mai Atafo, Lagos, Nigeria “Dr. Gani explores the reality of creative freedoms for music artists in Nigeria from a fresh and critical author-centric perspective. This is an important book, as it identifies necessary changes in copyright law and business practices which would foster fair and just protection for artists, and sustainability for music industries.”   ― Gaetano Dimita, Queen Mary University of London, UK “This is a very interesting book. There is neither much writing available on the Nigerian popular music industry, nor on Nigerian copyright law. On the question of creativity in this particular cultural context, creativity and creative autonomy are usually discussed in relation to European or North American music industries, so this book covers a new and important field.” ― Bankole Sodipo, Babcock University, Nigeria “ Creative Autonomy, Copyright and Popular Music in Nigeria is a welcome academic text, which offers a critical and well-informed perspective on the Nigerian popular music industry, and in particular the role of different legal provisions on the creative autonomy of performing authors (singer-songwriters). The global approach of the book offers theoretical discussions of copyright law, which are well supported with additional findings of an empirical study.” ― Metka Potočnik, University of Wolverhampton, UK "This is an important and quite timely book, particularly in light of the recent recognition that African music has gained globally in recent years. This book presents well-thought-out arguments and is indeed a contribution to the body of knowledge in the area of copyright law and cultural industries. The book is elegantly constructed and addresses the pre-existing issues of creative autonomy, which are explored in detail, in chapters six, seven and eight. This book is essential for anyone who is interested in reading about the Nigerian popular music industry, especially in relation to creative autonomy, and is also interested in how the framework of how copyright policies may be cultivated to address other issues which impact the Nigerian economy.” ― Folashade Adeyemo, Lecturer in Law, University of Reading, UK From the Back Cover This book provides an in-depth analysis of the unique structure of the Nigerian popular music industry. It explores the dissonance between copyright’s thematic support for creative autonomy and the practical ways in which the law allows singer-songwriters’ (performing authors') creative autonomy to be subverted in their contractual relationships with record labels. The book establishes the concept of creative autonomy for performing authors as a key criterion for sustainable economic development, and makes innovative legal and policy recommendations to help stakeholders preserve it. Mary W. Gani holds a degree in law (Jos), an LLM in international commercial law (University of Kent), and a PhD in commercial law from Queen Mary, University of London, UK. She is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.  About the Author Mary W. Gani holds a degree in law (Jos), an LLM in international commercial law (University