In its annual tradition, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has again disbursed royalties to the tune of N200million naira, as approved by the Board of the society on December 15, 2016.
The unanimous approval of the proposed distribution took place at the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of COSON held at Niteshift Coliseum, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos.
The Collective Management Organisation (CMO) collects royalties for the use of musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria on behalf of its members.
Shortly after the approval, members had not departed the venue when they started receiving alerts of payment from their banks. Several members of COSON at the venue confirmed receipt of royalty payment.
For the EGM, the gaily dressed musicians, young and old, from across the country thronged Niteshift Coliseum in a celebratory mood. There was so much singing and dancing as several musicians performed at the event, turning the general meeting into a carnival.
Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, thanked the members for their continuous support of the society since its inception. According to him: “Despite what is a very hostile environment under which your society has had to operate and an economy hit by severe recession and despite the acquisition of the multi-million Naira ‘COSON House’ which is fully paid for, your Board is today putting before you a scheme for the distribution of a record sum of N200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira), a 42.86% increase on the sum of N140,000,000.00 (One Hundred & Forty Million Naira) which you approved for distribution last year”. The information was received with huge applause.
Shedding light on the acquisition of the new COSON property, Chief Okoroji said, “I am pleased to announce to you today that in keeping with your mandate, your society has acquired and fully paid for a big multi-million Naira property at No 41 Oluwaleyemu Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. When fully renovated, the property to be known as “COSON HOUSE” will have state of the art facilities for the operation of any modern organisation and provide sufficient accommodation for our growing work force. It is our hope that by time the next AGM takes place, we would have moved from Omodara Street to COSON HOUSE”.
Commenting further, the Chairman said, “I want to congratulate every member of COSON for this historic achievement not made by any organization in the creative industry before now. Let me remind you that none of us can truly say anymore that he or she is not a landlord because we are all owners of COSON HOUSE”
