A row over music royalties is heating up across Africa, with cellphone giants accused of violating copyright in both Nigeria and South Africa, and potentially facing billions of rands in fines and bills.
Continental superstars DJ Cleo and Nigeria’s Flavour N’abania have asked for sales data from MTN, its subsidiary and content aggregator Content Connect Africa (CCA), and Vodacom so they can have them audited to establish whether their copyright has been infringed. While the companies strongly deny any infringements, which CCA dismisses as “ludicrous”, industry insiders say their liability could run into the billions in unpaid royalties and fines in South Africa alone. DJ Cleo and Flavour have each enjoyed hugely successful hit singles, which would have generated significant revenue when sold by the companies as a a download, ringtone or ringback tone. If they can prove copyright violations, the SA Copyright Act provides for a first offence fine of up to R5 000, or a jail term. If it is a repeat offence, the act provides for a fine of up to R10 000 or a jail term, per infringement. However, DJ Cleo and Flavour are not the only musicians in dispute with MTN.
 

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