Ghanaian songwriter and artiste manager, Bullet, who is the manager, of the sensational singer, Wendy Shay, has registered his displeasure noting that they feel “disrespected” after the producer of ‘Slay’ used their song without their knowledge or permission.
Bullet in an interview noted that it could have been a good news if the producers had gone through the right process. He further explained that the music is their “intellectual property” therefore if anyone wants to use it, they must first ask for their permission to do so.
“When we heard that part of the music, we felt disrespected. This could have actually been a good thing if they had contacted us, but they didn’t. So, when you see your intellectual property being used by someone without your knowledge or permission it’s just like you having a property and someone comes and steal it. So that’s how we felt, disrespected”.
When asked if he has gotten in contact with the producer of the movie, Bullet disclosed that through Wendy Shay’s threatening a close friend of the producer called and they are waiting to hear from the producer as well. He also mentioned that the movie ‘Slay’ has been taken down from Netflix.
“We didn’t know who to contact because there was no number to reach out to. But social media is now very powerful, you know. So, we leveraged on that and put it out there and on other platforms. I think Netflix has taken down the movie as I am speaking to you. The movie is no longer there.
“The producer hasn’t contacted me yet. But one guy called his name is Enoch and he said he is a friend to the producer and he used to work for Zylophone media and that Netflix has taken down the movie. So, I spoke with him and he said they are going to get back to me. But the movie is down”.
Netflix takes down ‘Slay’ movie
A section of Ghanaians, however, were of the view that Wendy Shay should have been happy that her song was featured in the movie. Bullet in reaction to that expressed his disappointment in how some Ghanaians are “ignorant” of the laws concerning copyright issues. According to him, they invested a lot of money into producing the song and so if anyone will like to use the song especially for commercial purposes, then they have to pay for it.
“You know when Wendy Shay put it out there that she will sue them, I got to know that there are a lot of people in Ghana who are ignorant about copyright laws in Ghana. Some were saying she should even be happy that she has her song on a Netflix show. People don’t understand it. They just don’t understand what intellectual property is. We put in money and effort into producing that song but because it’s music people feel it’s nothing. Let me make this clear, owning music is like owning a house or a car. It’s a property. If the producer wasn’t using it for commercial purposes, then that’s a different case but this is a movie that you will be getting a lot of money from, so you are making money from our work”.
Bullet wants producer to do the right thing
When asked if the movie that has been taken down brings him some sort of satisfaction, he answered in the negative. He emphasized that he didn’t want the movie taken down, however, he wanted the producer of the movie to do the right thing.
“I am not satisfied with Netflix taking down the movie. Honestly, i didn’t want Netflix to take the movie down but Netflix doesn’t play with copyright issues. I still want the producers to do their bit, I want to talk to them… We need to give them the go-ahead and the license to use our work. We are not happy so they have to do the right thing. Trust me when it’s a Hollywood movie you won’t have this trouble because they will do the right thing. They will contact you before they use it. So, the right thing needs to be done. They should just show some respect”.
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