If you want to use a song and you can’t find the owner, find another song

Ghanaian Highlife musician and former Chairman of the Ghana Rights Organization (GHAMRO), Rex Omar, has strongly advised musicians not to take copyright laws for granted.

In an interview with host, Dr. Cann on Happy FM’s Xtra, he educated on what people need to do if they want to sample a musician’s work for their own projects or if a musician wants to cover another artiste’s song.

He said, “You have to research on the person whose song you want to use. If you take a song or album from the person, you will find who the publishers are. You have to research on the musician’s record company, who the publishers are, what management the musician belongs to and then you reach out to them for permission”, he said.

Questioned on what one is supposed to do if they do not find any information on the right people to contact, Rex noted that not finding the needed information on a song or album does not give one the go-ahead to use the property.

He made an instance that, “It’s like you’ve found a house that you want to rent but you’re not finding the landlord. That does not mean you can move into the house. You have to find another house. It is someone’s property so if you want to use the property and you can’t find the owner, just find another property”.

The seasoned musician observed that Ghanaians do not respect copyright laws unlike people in developed countries who understand these laws and do not take it for granted. He advised that any artiste’s song is their intellectual property, hence, they have every right to take legal action against anyone who uses it without seeking their permission.