Unison interviews Majeidah Queen Dolo from AfroXilla Media

Majeidah Queen Dolo is a Music Executive, talent agent, entrepreneur and CEO of AfroXilla Media. As founder of AfroXilla she oversees strategic execution of all marketing campaigns, articles, brand collaborations and innovation projects for the company. Queen Dolo created AfroXilla in 2014 to showcase a positive narrative on African culture and to change the mindsets of people who may not be aware of the glories that the continent of Africa has; while providing quality digital media coverage on current events, entertainment and lifestyle. In 2019 she was officially elected and inducted into office as the National Organizer of the Musicians Union of Liberia. The Musicians Union of Liberia is an organization that was established in 1989 in accordance with the Liberian government to oversee all musical and cultural affairs in the country. Her role as the National Organizer is to manage all outreach initiatives, events, and music related programs in the country.

“Music is the common denominator… a communications instrument that knows no language barrier”, Paul Heinecke. 

What do you think are the main challenges that the music sector in Liberia is facing today and in the copyrights area specifically?

Although Liberia’s IP Act is ostensibly up to date, there still exist a few loopholes.  There is a new era of digitally monetized music and a growth in music creation and musical usage. The Liberian government has recognized IP rights as a medium of economic growth and a means of diversifying the economy. However, the music industry suffers significant setbacks due to the lack of systematic structure that is inconsistent with the socio-economics in Liberia.

The 2016 Intellectual Property Act called for the filing of international applications under the Madrid Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions. Under the act, the government of Liberia granted protection to copyrighted material including, but not limited to, musical works, sound recordings, literary works, artistic works, dramatic works, as well as works created by individuals, corporations, the government and international bodies.

How do you think that technology could bring solutions to those challenges?

Metadata technique brings significant improvements and helps the music and creative community thrive in this digital age. These solutions help benefit the music industry by assisting the CMO with collecting and distributing royalties and other remuneration on behalf of artists. 

How do you think that Unison could contribute in these next steps?

Royalties can make all the difference in an artist’s survival in the music industry. This technology Unison has provided can help to maximize royalty collection and data analytics. Music data detector and interface technology is needed to track music usage and location on behalf of songwriters and composers. This tool will bring significant change to the Liberian music industry: these services will help to collect royalties across broadcast, digital and general licensing businesses, and has established itself as a leader in music technology and data services worldwide.

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