Top Ivorian artist Fadal Dey attacked

This is the tumified face of one of West Africa’s most popular reggae artists. On May 31st, Fadal Dey and several of his fellow musicians were attacked by bootleggers in his country’s economic capital, Abidjan. He was part of a group of Ivorian musicians who had decided to confront hawkers selling counterfeit cassettes and CDs in the city’s business quarter, called La Sorbonne. They were hoping their act – which they categorised as “taking the bull by the horns” – would finally galvanise the authorities into action against what they call “a scourge on all artists”.

The result of their act of bravado was a not exactly what they had hoped for. Witnesses say that police stood by idly as the artists were set upon by a large group of hawkers and men armed with rocks and sticks. Dey and fellow-musician Gbazza Figaro were knocked unconscious by bricks. Dey needed over a dozen stitches, and was close to losing an eye. He has since left hospital and is in a stable condition.

The issue of music piracy has been a longstanding on in this beleaguered African nation. Like most of its neighbours, bootlegged copies of popular albums are sold for 30-40% less than the price of official albums, and are devastating the music industry. The IFPI recording industry watchdogs estimated that the trade of pirate discs worldwide was worth US $ 4.5 billion in 2005. It says that “more than one in three of all music discs purchased around the world is thought to be an illegal copy”. The consequences in Africa have been catastrophic for musicians, most of whom are forced to find other work to supplement their passion.

The worst culprit in domestic music piracy is said to be Morocco (almost 100 %!), followed by Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe (between 25 and 50%). What irks the artists most, however, is the climate of impunity for the pirates who operate openly in the streets of the major cities. Governments continue to ignore the most brazen copyright infringements and seem reticent to tackle intellectual property crime. “Music piracy in Africa,” claimed Youssou N’Dour, in an interview to IFPI, “constitutes today the biggest obstacle to the development of the cultural institutions linked to music.

“Piracy,” N’Dour continued, “is a systematic theft carried out against the heritage of the creators and professionals who work in music.” Dey and Figaro recently discovered the harsh realities of the jungle in the streets of Abidjan, unprotected by the authorities. They are struggling to overcome an ingrained practice there, along with hundreds of fellow-musicians and performers united in the National Union of Artists from Côte d’Ivoire. Despite his injuries, Dey has vowed to continue to fight a scourge that shows no signs of slowing down.

June 2007

>> See the report: Top Ivorian artist Fadal Dey attacked

Daniel Brown