PIRACY OF THE MUSICAL WORKS

Starting from today, Mali K7 and Seydoni-Mali close their doors

Mali K7 and Seydoni-Mali are today victims of the musical works piracy and unfair competition which is openly and publicly done to them. That’s why, these two structures of duplication decided to close their doors from this Wednesday March 16 until further notice to protest in the most official way against the guilty silence of the politico-administrative authorities.

The musical works piracy became today a recurring phenomenon which is ruining all the musical industry of Mali, thus destroying many talents. The threat is so real and so worrying that it had caused much noise. However, the Minister for the Culture, Cheick Oumar Sissoko engaged personally to stop the plague before the end of November 2004 or to even resign in case failure. We can say today, without risk to do a mistake that Cheick Oumar Sissoko failed in this mission. Since, because of the piracy of the musical works, the persons in charge for the companies Mali K7 and Seydoni-Mali finally decided to close their door from this Wednesday March 16 and that until further notice.

These companies are victims of the musical works piracy and the unfair competition which is openly and publicly done to them.

Yesterday, about noon, when we passed in the head office of Seydoni-Mali, the face of certain people was red. One could read on the door of some offices "Closing, lay off from Wednesday March 16". In any case, Seydoni-Mali and Mali K7 decided to close their doors because the counterfeit of the intellectual works or piracy knew a threshold which our country had never reached before the implantation of our duplication and manufacturing units. Today, a cassette is pirated only 24 hours after it’s put on sale. The Fraudulent importations, the existence of small clandestine units, the artisanal copy of the works are the principal causes of this plague.

Mali K7 and Seydoni-Mali have invested more than 600 million of FCFA for the realization of these structures. With more than sixty jobs, these two companies also contribute to the cultural radiation of Mali throughout the entire world. The organisation of the two editions of the trophies of the music in Mali "Tamani" of is the proof. It is also necessary to add Grammy Awards, les Victoires (the Victories), Kora, the Price RFI Musique du monde, the musical distinctions which honoured much Malian artists and our country during the last decade.

It should be specified that because of piracy, the Malian state loses each year more than one billion of FCFA. And it’s especially the Malian artists who are the great losers because they will not have any structure to produce them any more.