The world of numbers & rappers - Protect your rights
28/10/2011

According to Lagrange's four-square theorem, seven is the lowest number that cannot be represented as the sum of the squares of three integers.
Forget that seven. This Seven is not that complicated. He is a rapper who is interesting, new school and cutting edge and, I must admit, after visiting his website, I am now a fan. What makes him special is, of course, his music but, also his stance on social issues that are often associated with the entertainment industry. He is not your everyday rapper. Not only does he make good music, but he also uses his platform to tackle the ever growing problem of HIV and AIDS. He does this through educational articles on his blog http://7vnhq.blogspot.com and his website http://7vnhq.com. He preaches the message of abstinence, awareness, education, responsibility and overcoming peer pressure. His music features thought provoking verses like a ‘‘thief in the night it came and took over me’’, ‘‘in just one night I married a disease and pleading with the demons to set me free’’. In his song, “Won’t cry now (sevens steps to change)”, he admits that his is not a sad song, but an ode to the strong who must just keep holding on until negativity is gone (somehow reminding me of John Keats, the poet). Clearly, if I have to liken 7vn to one of the greatest poets who ever lived, there must be something special about him.

He is serious about protection, against both the opportunistic diseases associated with HIV and AIDS and also opportunist exploitation of artists. 7vn is aware that artists are often exploited because their focus is on the creative side rather than on the business side. He knows that many recording artists are not properly advised about copyright and other intellectual property laws that regulate the music industry. This man was concerned about his rights and, realising that he was not informed about his rights, he spoke to Adams & Adams. Fortunately, he did so before he signed for any major record label and as such, he is now well aware of his rights. He can now firmly say that, he is not exposed, predisposed or susceptible to opportunistic exploitation. Unfortunately, he is one of a very few South African artists who are aware of their rights and who have protected their rights (legally).

More too often, we read about an artist who has died a pauper or is battling financially. Often the blame is laid on the record companies and they are accused of pulling a fast one on the musician. At a recent gathering, I had a conversation with a musician whose song was so popular in the year 2000 it even made and topped the charts in South America. It was also featured in an advertisement for a popular vodka. In light of the song’s success, you would assume that the artist ‘coined it’. However, the artist is almost as wealthy as that guy you saw pointing to his mouth at the robot yesterday. He was, in fact, trying to sell me some old CD’s. He has moved from Sandton and is now staying in Orlando (known as Killarney to locals). For his fall from grace, he laid the blame squarely on the record company he was signed to. He said his cut from that song amounted to about R 20 000.00. He is certain that the recording company was paid about R 300 000.00 for the vodka advert alone. He told me that whenever he raised monetary issues, the record company would pull out a contract that he signed and refer him to some or other clause that he did not understand. However, he had no choice but to accept that, upon interpretation, the clause simply meant that he was not entitled to the money.

Unfortunately for him, once you have signed a contract or any other legal document, you are generally bound by what appears in the contract, regardless of whether or not you did read or understand what appears in the contract. The Latin maxim for this rule is 'caveat subscriptor’ meaning 'let the signer beware'.

This situation could have been easily avoided if the artist had taken the necessary steps to protect his rights and first sought legal advice, before signing a contract. The Adams & Adams Entertainment Group is well positioned to protect the intellectual property of our artists. After all, we have been protecting intellectual property for the past 102 years.

Mxolisi Nene
Candidate Attorney
mxolisi@adamsadams.co.za


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