Challenges of Intellectual Property Protection for Creative Entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s Music Industry

This study examines the intellectual property protection challenges confronting creative entrepreneurs in Nigeria's music industry, investigating how inadequate copyright protection affects the commercial viability of music-based businesses and the incentive to invest in creative production. Nigeria's music industry has achieved extraordinary global cultural visibility through Afrobeats, yet the entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports musicians, producers, and music-related businesses continues to be undermined by rampant copyright infringement, inadequate royalty collection, and limited awareness of intellectual property rights among industry participants. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with 25 music entrepreneurs including artists, producers, label owners, and music streaming platform managers in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano. Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data. Findings reveal widespread awareness of copyright infringement as a problem but very limited use of formal legal remedies, attributed to the high cost of intellectual property litigation, the slow pace of the courts, and the limited track record of Nigerian Performing Rights Society enforcement. Digital streaming has improved the royalty capture environment for artists with formal distribution arrangements but has not resolved offline piracy or the informal sharing of music content on WhatsApp and Telegram. The study argues that intellectual property weakness constitutes a systemic market failure that reduces the capitalisation of Nigeria's most globally successful cultural industry. Recommendations include strengthened NPRS enforcement capacity and public awareness campaigns on music copyright for artists at entry level. Keywords: intellectual property, copyright, music industry, creative entrepreneurship, Nigeria.