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The everyday growth of the Cameroon urban sound and music has become an indication, there is the need to put in place sustainable structures to accommodate the diversities of the rapid growing music sector.
The role of law has played its part and is still in the process of engaging many more sustainable solutions in this regards. As legal practitioners with specialty in this sector, our view holds 80 of performing artist and music stakeholders in Cameroon are still ignorant on the laws relating to music.
With the proposal and eventual adoption of bill N° 1076/PJL/AN to govern artistic and cultural associations in Cameroon enforced as law N° 2020/011 of 20TH July 2020, regulating artistic and cultural associations in Cameroon.
It is imperative that actors of this sector become abreast with the law, identify their role and responsibilities per the law toward each other, the state and thus together enable their individual and collective growth.
No matter how good a performing talent or outstanding a music company you are, the law shall always supersede. Keep this in mind.
Talking about the law and music in Cameroon, it is further important we can’t talk of music without mentioning the following laws;
The law upon enforcement faced a lot of criticism from performing artists, music stakeholders and the entertainment industry at large.
The law aim at providing and outsourcing the role and obligations of performing artists and music stakeholders toward one another, the music profession and the state.
The law identifies and defines the scope of the various performing artists in the music sector in Cameroon to include song authors, singers, musicians, dancers, music producers and other stakeholders who represent the music sector.
The law aims at protecting all artistic works irrespective of the genre and hence sets out the rights of copyright holders and modalities as to music sampling, preservation of recording data, photographic works, artistic images, video production, performance and publishing contracts, publishing business, music distribution and licensing etc
Lastly, the law also outlines what suffices as an infringement with penalties on defaulters be you an individual or corporate entity (record companies, video production entities, photographic household etc) on copyright and other related issues.
This law in applicability in the music sector aims at protecting trademarks and service marks of independent artists and music companies in Cameroon.
The law requires for every trademark or service mark to be dully registered with the competent authority.
The law outlines crimes committed by defaulters stating punishments on some aspects of the music sector, intellectual property and other related issues.
This law stands to protect performing artists and various industry stake holders in contractual employment agreements with record companies or entities. Hence, performing artist with contracts signed to record companies suffice as employment contract.
Where there is a violation of terms by either parties (performing artist or record company) in such contracts shall be subject to conciliation before the labour inspectorate or ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
Every performing artist in entertainment in Cameroon is obliged to have his or her name enrolled in the registry of the ministry of arts and culture.
Like any other profession with a regulatory body, the entertainment and music in Cameroon is supervised under the auspices of the Minister of Art and Culture in Cameroon.
It is an independent music copyright management structure of Cameroon comprising of different stakeholders of the music sector in Cameroon.
They are and act as an intermediary channel between the supervisory body of the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the Cameroon artists.
Their role and responsibility is to manage artist copyright issues and distribution of royalties, table artist grievances and negotiate better outcome before the supervisory authority.
Every stakeholder authorized to carry out music business in Cameroon must be registered with the ministry of commerce to obtain a legal status.
Moreover, such legal status shall be subject to submission of the stakeholder’s objectives before the said competent structure.
Every individual, record company or entities authorized to carry on business in entertainment in Cameroon shall be obliged to declare taxes to the state of Cameroon and such taxes shall be declared via the Ministry of Finance.
