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Days after picketing, Ali-Balogun, AVRS still strending

Since he led the Audio Visuals Right Society, AVRS to disrupt activities of the prestigious Raddison Blu Hotel Ikeja on Tuesday, Chairman of the AVRS Mahmood Ali-Balogun

Mahmood Ali-Balogun

Since he led the Audio Visuals Right Society, AVRS to disrupt activities of the prestigious Raddison Blu Hotel Ikeja on Tuesday, Chairman of the AVRS Mahmood Ali-Balogun and AVRS as a collective management organisation have been trending.

Discussions in entertainment circles have centred on the success of the picketing exercise, which the AVRS embarked upon following the refusal of the hospitality outfit management to pay royalties for making use of its members’ audio-visual contents in its chain of hotels.

At last Tuesday’s picketing of the hotel, Ali-Balogun, a renowned filmmaker stated that the picketing of the hotel became necessary after months of dialogue and negotiations broke down without any agreement being reached.

According to him, the CMO, prior to Tuesday’s action, had petitioned the Inspector General of Police against the hotel’s illegal use of the intellectual property of their members. “But after series of meetings with the lawyers representing the hotel management, they showed no genuine interest in resolving the issue with AVRS thus the picketing of their facility.”

Ali-Balogun also stated that the action became necessary to send signals not only to the Raddison Blu hotel chain but to all other users of audio-visual works that it is time to begin to pay for content.

Top Nollywood actors, including Jide Kosoko, Fred Amata, Yemi Solade, Emeka Ossai, Yinka Akanbi, Ejike Asiegbu, Grace Amah and many others joined to picket the 4-Star hospitality giant.

A bird squealed to Moviedom that after Tuesday’s action by the AVRS several other hotels have been reaching out to AVRS Management and its board members on what they need to do to avoid being picketed.

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