Master KG vs Nomcebo – Jerusalema
Master KG and Nomcebo realised one of the greatest hits of all time –“Jerusalema”. The song, which was recorded and released in 2019, now has over 420,000,000 (Four Hundred and Twenty Million)views on YouTube, over 215,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifteen Million)views on Spotify, and even got into Shazam’s global top spot.
The dance challenge went viral, with various participants from different countries. The story of the song–Master KG invited Nomcebo to come to his house late one night in 2019 to record a song. Although she had complained it was too late, she eventually went and together, they recorded the hit song around midnight.
Nomcebo recently revealed that despite the success of Jerusalema, she had not been paid a cent by the label. Whilst this has left many in shock, Master KG has come out to refute this statement, stating that both parties were assigned 50–50% splits of the song, and Nomcebo wants a 70–30% split. This article will now examine the legal issues herein. Whenever an artist wishes to collaborate with others to record and produce a song, an Agreement/Contract should be drafted.
Nomcebo Press Release
The type of agreement will be determined by the work or service the person is to perform on the record. If the artist needs a producer to produce the beat, record, and even mix and master, an agreement should be drafted between the artiste and producer, detailing the terms of the contracts, royalties and publishing split between the artist, producer, and any other contributor to the song. The same applies as well if the artiste decides to feature another artist.
A featured artiste agreement should be drafted between both parties, detailing the terms of the collaboration, royalties in the master recording and the publishing splits. This brings us to the next point –Split Sheets. A split sheet is a document which details the stake each contributor has in the song and how the royalties accruable to the publishing right of the song is going to be divided. It identifies the ownership percentage each contributor has in the song.
It serves as copyright ownership and will be referred to if a dispute arose. While most artists ignore the business side of the music industry, it remains as important as the creative side. It is best to have the featured agreement executed before collaborating with the other artiste. The same goes for the split sheets. Where it cannot be done before production, it should be done immediately after. Each party should determine/agree on the percentage split and have it documented. The reason being that you want to tidy up the paperwork before the release of the song.
If Master KG and Nomcebo had drawn up a split sheet immediately after the production of Jerusalem and way before the release, this dispute may not have risen. Where the song has been released before agreements are made and executed, it puts the owner of the song at a disadvantage, as you may be forced to accept the terms of the other party, risk your song being taken down, or have issues such as this. If the split sheets and agreements were drawn up before the song’s release, both parties will either have agreed and signed on a particular publishing percentage, or the song will not have been released.
Whilst we await the outcome of the Jerusalema dispute, it serves as a timely reminder that taking the time and effort to tidy up your paperwork. You should ensure proper clearance is done, and engage an entertainment lawyer to draft and negotiate your agreements before the release of the song. This is very important, as it helps avoid avoidable issues such as this.
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.
