The Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has called on its members to register with the Lagos State Film and video Censors Board (LSFVCB) as a strategy to address some challenges in the creative industry.
The PMAN President, Comrade Obi Casmir said that PMAN never told its members not to register with the board. According to the him, the registration would also enable the association to have a strong bearing in the state’s entertainment sector.
He said the registration of practitioners and creative contents in the state was LSFVCB’s mandate. He added that the registration was for the benefit of the members.
“Following a publication made by the Executive Secretary of LSFVCB, Mr Bamidele Balogun, in which he directed all practitioners and content producers to register their contents with the board, we are encouraging our members to key into this laudable exercise.
“The attention of the association was drawn to a public notice calling on members to disassociate themselves from registering with LSFVCB,” he said, urging the members to disregard it.
Commenting, PMAN’s Legal Adviser, Mr Ademola Odetunde, noted that the registration was part of Lagos State Government’s measure to put in place a comprehensive policy designed to tackle challenges facing the creative industry.
“The union has been battling with issues such as funding, piracy, distribution, proper accounting framework; this measure was introduced to tackle the problems.
“No doubt, there is a demand by the government to get records of entertainment and creative sector practitioners and commercial outlets operating in the state for revenue generation,” he said. He added that the association’s accounting, distribution and baseline data framework would facilitate achievement of the purpose of the initiative.
“It will drag entertainment and creative content practitioners in the state directly into the state’s tax net, enhance foreign direct investment in the entertainment and creative sector and enable the state to use the entertainment and creative sector to drive tourism.”
He added that it would create employment for youths and increase internally-generated revenue. He also said that it would encourage automated payment of tax by the practitioners on the usage of creative content, through payment integration with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.
According to him, the initiative will also help in tracking usage and users of entertainment and creative contents from the state, on the global digital landscape.
He advised the practitioners to focus on the restructuring of the industry and shun allegations that could not be substantiated. “We encourage stakeholders to focus on the proposed accounting, distribution and baseline data framework in the interest of musicians and the entire creative industry,” Odetunde said.
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