What is music licensing?
Music licensing is the legal permission required to use copyrighted music in your business or organisation. When you obtain a music licence, you are authorised to play, perform, broadcast, stream, reproduce, or otherwise use protected musical works.
It ensures that composers, songwriters, performers, producers, publishers, and other rights owners are properly compensated for the use of their intellectual property.
What happens if I do not get a music licence?
Using music without a valid licence is a breach of copyright law. This can result in:
• fines and penalties,
• business disruption,
• legal action by rights holders, and
• reputational risk.
A licence from MCSN protects your business from copyright infringement and ensures compliance with Nigerian copyright regulations.
Music licensing is the legal permission required to use copyrighted music in your business or organisation. When you obtain a music licence, you are authorised to play, perform, broadcast, stream, reproduce, or otherwise use protected musical works.
It ensures that composers, songwriters, performers, producers, publishers, and other rights owners are properly compensated for the use of their intellectual property.
What happens if I do not get a music licence?
Using music without a valid licence is a breach of copyright law. This can result in:
• fines and penalties,
• business disruption,
• legal action by rights holders, and
• reputational risk.
A licence from MCSN protects your business from copyright infringement and ensures compliance with Nigerian copyright regulations.
As busy and overwhelming as this season can be, many deals meant for next year are being signed now.
Ensure those contracts are read thoroughly before signing.
Clarity matters especially at year end.
Ensure those contracts are read thoroughly before signing.
Clarity matters especially at year end.
Dear Business Owner,
Happy New Year 🎊
Businesses often make early-year payments to preserve commercial relationships or to re-establish momentum after delays or disagreements.
Where such payments are made, it is important to clearly state their purpose — whether in respect of a specific invoice, a contractual milestone, an advance, or a settlement.
Payments made without clear attribution frequently give rise to avoidable disputes, as parties may later attach different meanings to the same transaction.
Clarity at the point of payment is a simple but effective risk-management tool.
Happy New Year 🎊
Businesses often make early-year payments to preserve commercial relationships or to re-establish momentum after delays or disagreements.
Where such payments are made, it is important to clearly state their purpose — whether in respect of a specific invoice, a contractual milestone, an advance, or a settlement.
Payments made without clear attribution frequently give rise to avoidable disputes, as parties may later attach different meanings to the same transaction.
Clarity at the point of payment is a simple but effective risk-management tool.
Understanding Copyright Ownership in Film and Music
A completed film is not one single copyright.
It is made up of different creative works such as the script, performances, music, sound recordings, and the final edited film. Each of these can have a different legal owner.
Music used in a film usually has two separate copyrights.
The musical composition and the sound recording. Paying for music or receiving permission to use it does not automatically mean ownership has changed. In most cases, it is only a licence that limits how, where, and for how long the music can be used.
This is where Content ID becomes important.
Platforms like YouTube automatically use Content ID to identify and enforce music rights. They do not ask who made the film. They ask who registered the music. If someone else registered it, monetisation can be redirected, frozen, or disputed until ownership is clarified.
Most copyright disputes are not caused by theft, but by unclear agreements and incomplete rights documentation.
Clear contracts matter.
A completed film is not one single copyright.
It is made up of different creative works such as the script, performances, music, sound recordings, and the final edited film. Each of these can have a different legal owner.
Music used in a film usually has two separate copyrights.
The musical composition and the sound recording. Paying for music or receiving permission to use it does not automatically mean ownership has changed. In most cases, it is only a licence that limits how, where, and for how long the music can be used.
This is where Content ID becomes important.
Platforms like YouTube automatically use Content ID to identify and enforce music rights. They do not ask who made the film. They ask who registered the music. If someone else registered it, monetisation can be redirected, frozen, or disputed until ownership is clarified.
Most copyright disputes are not caused by theft, but by unclear agreements and incomplete rights documentation.
Clear contracts matter.
Annual returns are not a formality.
They are a statutory obligation.
Every registered entity in Nigeria, whether a business name, company, incorporated trustee (under which NGOs, clubs, and religious bodies fall), or partnership, is required under CAMA to file annual returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
This obligation applies whether the entity is active or inactive, whether profit was made or not, and whether operations paused or continued.
Non-activity is not an exemption.
Annual returns keep your entity visible on the CAC register, preserve its good standing, and ensure public records reflect reality. Where they are ignored, penalties may apply, and the entity may be flagged as non-compliant or struck off the register, often without immediate warning.
Most compliance problems do not start with major violations.
They start with small filings that were postponed, misunderstood, or overlooked.
They are a statutory obligation.
Every registered entity in Nigeria, whether a business name, company, incorporated trustee (under which NGOs, clubs, and religious bodies fall), or partnership, is required under CAMA to file annual returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
This obligation applies whether the entity is active or inactive, whether profit was made or not, and whether operations paused or continued.
Non-activity is not an exemption.
Annual returns keep your entity visible on the CAC register, preserve its good standing, and ensure public records reflect reality. Where they are ignored, penalties may apply, and the entity may be flagged as non-compliant or struck off the register, often without immediate warning.
Most compliance problems do not start with major violations.
They start with small filings that were postponed, misunderstood, or overlooked.
https://youtu.be/8l7VNbdcL28?si=HYtFPUDFcGg0x-xV
This was recorded three years ago, but it is still relevant to this discussion. Many people assume that only marriages conducted at Ikoyi, Abuja, or other Federal registries are valid for international use.
That assumption is not entirely correct.
When I was preparing to get married, I made enquiries at Somolu, Lagos, to be sure the registry was properly licensed. The marriage certificate issued to me was the same as the one issued to my sister, who got married at the Ikoyi Registry.
So, if you can avoid the stress, please do.
This was recorded three years ago, but it is still relevant to this discussion. Many people assume that only marriages conducted at Ikoyi, Abuja, or other Federal registries are valid for international use.
That assumption is not entirely correct.
When I was preparing to get married, I made enquiries at Somolu, Lagos, to be sure the registry was properly licensed. The marriage certificate issued to me was the same as the one issued to my sister, who got married at the Ikoyi Registry.
So, if you can avoid the stress, please do.
YouTube
For Legal Wedding: Local Government Vs. Federal Registry
A very short video airing a law educational talk by Adeola Kolawole of Aviel Avenante Law Practice (AALAWSNG).
She seeks to help viewers realize the institutional requirements for legally conducted weddings so that intending couples can make informed decisions…
She seeks to help viewers realize the institutional requirements for legally conducted weddings so that intending couples can make informed decisions…
When Two Companies Share the Same Owners — Can a Bank Treat Them as One?
In FCMB PLC v. Slanik Engineering Ltd & Anor (2024), the Court of Appeal reaffirmed a core principle of company law: corporate personality.
Two companies, owned and managed by the same family, maintained separate accounts with FCMB.
One company obtained an unsecured overdraft of ₦2.1 million. It defaulted.
The bank transferred ₦2,134,273.77 from the other company’s account to settle that debt, arguing that because the same individuals were behind both companies, they should be treated as one economic entity.
The affected company sued.
The key question was simple:
Can common ownership collapse corporate separation?
The Court of Appeal said no.
Once incorporated under CAMA, a company becomes a separate legal person. It is distinct from its shareholders, directors, and related companies.
Ownership overlap does not merge companies.
The court emphasised:
A shareholder or director is not liable for corporate debt unless they personally guarantee it.
The corporate veil will only be lifted where there is fraud, illegality, or abuse of structure.
Failure to repay a loan is not fraud.
The bank’s right of set-off applied only to accounts belonging to the same legal person. These were two separate companies. The transfer was unlawful.
Why does this matter?
Many Nigerian businesses operate multiple companies within the same family or group structure.
This case confirms that the law respects corporate boundaries.
Each company:
Owns its assets
Owes its debts
Signs its contracts
Bears its risks
In FCMB PLC v. Slanik Engineering Ltd & Anor (2024), the Court of Appeal reaffirmed a core principle of company law: corporate personality.
Two companies, owned and managed by the same family, maintained separate accounts with FCMB.
One company obtained an unsecured overdraft of ₦2.1 million. It defaulted.
The bank transferred ₦2,134,273.77 from the other company’s account to settle that debt, arguing that because the same individuals were behind both companies, they should be treated as one economic entity.
The affected company sued.
The key question was simple:
Can common ownership collapse corporate separation?
The Court of Appeal said no.
Once incorporated under CAMA, a company becomes a separate legal person. It is distinct from its shareholders, directors, and related companies.
Ownership overlap does not merge companies.
The court emphasised:
A shareholder or director is not liable for corporate debt unless they personally guarantee it.
The corporate veil will only be lifted where there is fraud, illegality, or abuse of structure.
Failure to repay a loan is not fraud.
The bank’s right of set-off applied only to accounts belonging to the same legal person. These were two separate companies. The transfer was unlawful.
Why does this matter?
Many Nigerian businesses operate multiple companies within the same family or group structure.
This case confirms that the law respects corporate boundaries.
Each company:
Owns its assets
Owes its debts
Signs its contracts
Bears its risks
Foreign companies: If your business earns Nigeria-source income, Nigerian tax obligations follow.
Permanent establishment, WHT, VAT — and potential double taxation.
Structure your entry, contracts, and documentation early.
Permanent establishment, WHT, VAT — and potential double taxation.
Structure your entry, contracts, and documentation early.
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Most Nigerians believe divorce is as simple as “signing papers” but that process does not exist in our legal system.
Divorce in Nigeria is a court case, and only a Decree Absolute issued by a judge can end a statutory marriage.
Before a court grants it, the petitioner must prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
Divorce in Nigeria is a court case, and only a Decree Absolute issued by a judge can end a statutory marriage.
Before a court grants it, the petitioner must prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.