VICTIM OF UNFAIR COMPETITION AND PIRACY
MALI K7 AND SEYDONI MALI GO BANKRUPT

Fousseyni J.W. Traoré and Philippe Berthier respectively directors of Seydoni Mali and Mali K7 invited the national and international press, Wednesday March 16, 2005, at the head office of Mali K7, Quinzambougou. Many artists like Mariétou Diabaté, Idrissa Soumaoro, Amkoullel, Mamou Sidibé and producers was present at this meeting of explanation announcing to the journalists the closing of the two structures of musical works duplication in Mali. Victims of unfair competition and piracy, they protested in the most official way against the guilty silence of the political and administrative authorities.

Fousseyni Traoré and Philippe Berthier estimate that the counterfeit of the intellectual works or piracy reached a threshold that Mali has never known before the implantation of musical production and duplication unities. According to them, a cassette produced today is found 24 hours after in industrial quantities in the pirate houses. The causes are the existence of small clandestine units and craftman’s copy of the works.
Seydoni Mali and Mali K7 invested much (approximately more than 600 million fcfa) for the starting up of their structures which meet all the international standards. These companies offer an about sixty permanent jobs. With their closing, these persons in charge of families will inflate the row of the unemployed ones. And, one does not even know where the Malian artists will be produced.

"The extent of the situation does not enable us any more to support our current charges so to pay the taxes, the “inps”, and the Bmda is now simply impossible. The situation is indeed chaotic, but energetic and urgent solutions remain: a manifest political good-will, the change of statute of the Malian Office for the author right (Bmda), safety forces to track the contraveners and continuous operations of seizure of the sound records", proposes the general manager of Seydoni Mali.

A glance on the expenditure for a musical production allows to realize that the production and duplication society have a lot to do. To manufacture a cassette, it is first of all necessary to pay the fee of the artist which varies between 500.000 fcfa and 3.000.000. The recording studio requires between 150.000 fcfa and 250.000 fcfa per day. The expenses for the arrangement oscillate between 50.000 and 250.000 fcfa per title and album. As for the fee of the musicians, it is between 7.500 and 15.000 fcfa per musician and track. For the realization of the video, they pay between 350.000 and 2.000.000 fcfa.

In any case, Seydoni Mali and Mali K7 are determined today to go until the end in order to find solutions suitable to go out of the impasse. And yet, the Minister for the Culture, Cheick Oumar Sissoko had decided at a time to fight personally to eradicate this plague. He even said that "if nothing is made, he will resign of his post of minister". One can say today that Cheick Oumar failed in his mission. So let him give notice with dignity.

Alou Badra Haïdara