Don’t Use Songs For Adverts Without Permission - Rex Omar

Rex Omar has made a plea to Ghanaians not to take copyright laws for granted.

The highlife artiste who is also the former Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) extended his please from individuals to corporations and even musicians themselves.

According to him, it is not by force to use an artiste's music, therefore if an artiste cannot be found his or her music should be left alone.

“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 noted.

Rex Omar said this in an interview with host, Dr Cann on Happy FM’s Showbiz Xtra as a counterpoint for people who say they couldn't ask for the permission of the artiste because they could not find the artiste.

He further warned artists who sample the tracks of others without asking for the rights to the songs, as he maintained that it is a huge disservice for an artiste's brand if he or she steals songs from other artistes

“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”.

Rex Omar concluded that the music in Ghana is not moving forwards because Ghanaians do not respect copyright laws unlike people in developed countries who understand these laws and do not take them for granted.

Anyone that gets caught taking music without permission will most likely face legal action, he stated.