PMAN goes Tough on Non-Members

Blessing Nwobodo
All things being equal, musicians who are non members of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) may soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Dele Abiodun, PMAN president, reveals that the association has forwarded a bill to the National Assembly demanding that non members be disallowed to practice music. According to him, the bill which is awaiting second reading if granted will help the association fight mediocrity.
“To be a professional doctor and be allowed to practice effectively you have to belong to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA); same goes for a lawyer, he/she must also be a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). But you find out that most of the people who call themselves musicians are not members of PMAN and this is wrong. By the time this new bill becomes effective, non-members of the association will be prohibited from further practice,” he says.
PMAN is the governing body of the music industry and is poised to promote the interest of music and Nigerian musicians. The association is currently restructuring to ensure that artistes receive due compensation for their works.