Popular Nigerian comedian and skit maker Chukwuebuka Amuzie, known as Brain Jotter, has addressed concerns about the potential exploitation of Mike Ejeagha’s 1983 hit “Onye Ori Utaba” having the “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo” chant with which he sparked a viral dance challenge.
The 41-year-old song by the 93-year-old folklore legend has taken social media by storm, leading to questions about revenue distribution and copyright. In response, Brain Jotter clarified that he is not profiting from the viral trend.
“For those who think we ripped him off or we’re making money from this whole thing, I understand your concerns and they are very valid. I appreciate the fact that you want him to get value for his hard work, which is very valid, and I want you to understand that you are doing something good,” Brain Jotter stated as he posted a video on Tuesday of his visit to the music legend.
But, “at the end of the day, no dime was made from this song by me, nothing like that,” he pointed out, explaining that by the mechanics of content monetisation on various platforms, “all that music which I put out there – on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube – everything, the whole revenue is going to Mike Ejeagha’s record label, his production company.”
Detailing how copyright protection works on the aforementioned platforms, the comedian said: “You cannot even monetise another person’s song because these platforms have copyright violation tools. If I post that video on YouTube, YouTube strikes it for copyright and they give the revenue to the actual owner, which is Mike Ejeagha.
“If you post it on Facebook, Facebook will tell you outright that this song does not belong to you, it belongs to this person. They take the revenue and give it to the actual owner.”
The comedian highlighted a positive outcome of the viral challenge, stating, “The song increased its streams on streaming platforms massively, and there’s no way I can put the song on streaming platforms. So everything, all revenues, are going straight to Mike Ejeagha.”
Brain Jotter also revealed that he gave Ejeagha two million naira, stating, “The two million I gave him was from my pocket. My hard-earned money is just for humanity and not for profit. This whole thing is not for profit.”
He further expressed gratitude for the joy the challenge has brought.“We got the reward, which is the joy in his heart now. The joy in his heart now is my profit,” he said.
