The management of Fuse ODG, New Africa Nation, issued a statement saying that the government used his intellectual property, New African Girl’, without his permission. And this is in the same video where Kirani Ayat song was used without his consent.
In a press release, New Africa Nation said that although they had cooperated with the government in the past, they did not do the necessary this time.
“In the past we have approved works for government use, notably our 2018 record, ‘Bra Fie’ with Damian Marley, which was used as the theme song for ‘Year of Return’; which we launched through our TINA festival alongside the President of Ghana. However, no such process was observed in relation to the recent video in question regarding our recording “New African Girl”.
Beneath the deep blue sky, the Black Star is calling. Follow the stars and let them take you on a journey of our people. I invite everyone to the country at the centre of the world – #Ghana 🇬ðŸ‡. #VisitGhana2022pic.twitter.com/2m5KC2QTkt
Fuse ODG also sympathized with fellow musician Kirani Ayat, who is in a legal battle with the government over copyright issues over the same video.
“We sympathized with Kirani Ayat. As creative people, we sacrifice a lot to put together a song, let alone an entire video with high-quality production value.”
For the nation of New Africa, steps are being taken to correct this “mistake” while suggesting ways to avoid future occurrences.
“…going forward, the solution must be to invest in more intellectual property education… In the meantime, our legal team is working with the Department and its legal team to resolve this issue.”
Kirani Ayat yesterday challenged the Presidency and the Ghana Tourism Authority for using his song in their advertisement without permission. He revealed that he approached the ministry three years ago about collaborating on a song. But he was rejected.
In response, the Ghana Tourism Authority revealed that they have acquired the rights from the agency. The agency also refuted the claim, saying that they did not allow the use of Kirani Ayato’s song without contacting him first.
The matter is still unresolved and has sparked conversations about copyright and intellectual property in the entertainment industry.
Lack of respect; Our legal team is ready – Fuse ODG handles government copyright issues
