GTA compensated me but it's been evading other important matters - Kirani Ayat laments

Rapper Kirani Ayat has asserted that copyright infringement, in his experience, is a result of carelessness rather than ignorance due to poor law enforcement and lack of accountability.

According to him, people tend to do whatever they want, because they know there is no proper law enforcement that will punish them.

Due to poor law enforcement, people who violate copyright laws ask themselves “After all, what will happen to me?” Ayat argued.

“The long and short of it all is there is no accountability so people do whatever they want,” Ayat stressed.

Speaking to Nana Kwesi Asare on The Big Show on Class 91.3 FM, Ayat mentioned that although he has received compensation for the unauthorized use of his video, there are still other issues that need to be resolved with the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism.

He criticized their perceived nonchalance and lack of urgency in addressing the matter. Ayat emphasized the importance of applying pressure to get things done and learning from the experience

“We’re still giving them the benefit of the doubt since they’ve not said anything [like] they’re not going to do [it], but we’re yet to see it,” he added.

In Ghana “everyone moves on their own time. There’s no sense of urgency,” he lamented.

According to him, the entire experience has been “a constant learning process.”

“I’ve learnt how important [applying] pressure is to getting things done,” he added.

He also mentioned the importance of having proper documentation for creative work.

“That’s very important,” the singer-songwriter and rapper said. “When it comes to who’s involved in your work, and who owns what part of the work and all of that.”

On Tuesday, September 27, 2022, Ayat, via Twitter, confronted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for using a footage of his critically acclaimed Guda music video without his permission.

President Akufo-Addo had tweeted a video montage advertising Ghana as a tourism haven.

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in a statement said the montage was not done by them but “was acquired legitimately from a bespoke creative agency as part of a project in 2019” and had in fact been in public circulation for about three years.

Later, it was reported that Kirani Ayat and the GTA were going to privately talk about the matter where he was compensated.

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