Nigerian producer, Orbeatz, in an interview with Pulse Nigeria has addressed his recent copyright infringement case with Burna Boy.
In the interview carried out at the Pulse office, Orbeats spoke fully about the entire case with Burna Boy, and how he wants the matter to be resolved.
Speaking on the relationship between him and Burna Boy, the producer who was behind the smash hit single ‘Soke’, off Burna Boy’s “On A Spaceship” (OAS) album, revealed a number of debts owed to him, by the singer’s record label.
Orbeat admitted that he is still being owed for his work on the OAS album, and that was because Burna Boy’s mother took over the singer’s management.
“He said when he is compiling the album, they would know how many of my songs would make the album. When they compiled, just two more made it, making it three songs. Those were very good songs. The song that just leaked was one of the songs that didn’t make the album. Kalada didn’t want to put everything on the album. He thought it wise to just cover charges for everything that I have produced, because everything was worth keeping for the next project. But after the album dropped, Kalada, left and everything changed. First they refused to pay me my balance for the album, the Mum changed everything, and said whatever agreement I had with Kalada was irrelevant, that she’s boss…”
In a detailed revelation he emphatically stated how the beat for the contentious song, ‘Acting Bad’ was created and the circumstances surrounding the creation of the beat.
“For the remaining three songs that didn’t make the album, I sent them mails to repossess my beats since they weren’t paying for the songs. I have a business I’m running, people need these beats. I sent a mail to the label, to his management email.
The day we recorded that song, I sent it to Burna in ‘Acting bad’. Most of the things I did, I didn’t for Burna, I did it for Kalada, who was my personal friend. To be honest, I don’t have Burna’s number, I speak to only Kalada. During the time when they were owing me, I called, he hung up the phone and never picked my calls again. People blame me going on Twitter, but what do you really expect me to do when I call, and you hang up and you never pick my call again. The first time Burna Boy ever won an award outside this country, “Soke” gave him that award. I saw him ranting an tweeting that I begged to work with him. When I worked with Burna Boy, I had the hottest song in the country. “Sanko” was number I when I worked with him.
“When they failed to cover the charge for the other songs, I sent a mail that I am repossessing my beat. I was in my house, and my friend called me, and he said he thought he heard a song that sound like my beat. I had used that beat to refix Timaya’s Sanko, to buy the songs more life, at my free time. I used the beat for that instead. It’s out there. All of a sudden I heard that ‘Acting bad’ was out. I went out, I saw it on platforms I saw it as a leak. I went to his social media handles and there was post, and I said ‘ok’ it was a leak. But I came back some days later, and I saw pictures from Spacehsip logo and a white background. If it was a leak, nobody would know that I produced it, my signature was not on that beat. That photo had my name on it, and nobody knew that I had produced that beat. I don’t know why I didn’t munch it, but it disappeared immediately. Nobody knew I produced that beat. If it was a leak, they wouldn’t have known that I produced it. You can’t tell me you leaked a song, the song came out, and you had plans for the song.”
Orbeat also revealed all that the only condition for a settlement would be for Burna Boy to publicly apologize, release a disclaimer about the song and admit to wrongdoing. In the interview, he also mentions that he still holds no grudge to Burna Boy and his team.
“First I had let debt slide. They are still owing me from the album, and his mum knows about it. All I just want is for him to respect my work and my intellectual property, and take down that song. The money he is owing me, and what we discussed on royalties that he has breached, I have moved on. I know he is in the habit of screwing people over. Everybody that has ever worked with Burna as a producer or management has issues with Burna. And I am not surprised that it is happening. I expected it from him.
“It’s an infringement on my IP, and I have material with the same beat. I just want him to take it out and issue a statement about it. It is being monetized. I told his PR team, and gave them 48 hours to take it down before I take legal action. All I just need is for him to take that song down and admit that what he did was wrong and theft. It is a crime, IP theft, and he could go to jail for this. I have evidence that it is my IP, it is my beat, I sent you a mail not to release it, and you released it. I could decline settlement and insist that he should serve the time. They have tried to throw money at me, but that is not what I want. All I just want him to do is to take down is cool.”