FOLKSONGS, PARODY AND GLOBAL MUSIC: INTERROGATING THE MUSIC COPYRIGHT QUESTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This essay examines folksongs and its links with communities and cultures.  It is this relationship which makes it look as a property of all. In this work, we reflected on metamorphosis of folksongs into parody and the height it has reached in Nigeria. It examines the new age of digitalisation which ought to be a blessing in Nigeria but looks more of a threat to intellectual property and its associated economic gains. It concludes that there is an urgent need to step up some substantive areas of property law to accommodate modern realities.

Keywords: Folksong, Parody, Polyglot, copyright infringement; performers’ rights.