Artists urged to ‘be original’
SEND your entries in because time is running out.
This was the message from Fiji Performing Rights Association (FPRA) chairman Eremasi Tamanisau with only 10 days to go before the closing date for the Domo Vou Talei song contest.
His advice to upcoming unsigned artists – “be original”.
“We had issues in the past where Fijian lyrics were inserted into the melodies of popular European songs,” he said.
“Some were even virtual translations and this is called adaptation.
“It’s an adaptation of an original work and to do an adaptation the first step is to get the approval of the owner of the work which means the composer of the song.
“Once you get the approval then you can go ahead on the adaptation or translation.”
Tamanisau said this had been a contentious issue over the years.
He said there were cases where artists tried to beat the system by sampling bits from different songs and claiming the songs as their own.
“So that is something that we are also trying to inform our members and the young people to be well aware of because it’s not the right thing to do.
“They are abusing or are infringing of another fellow composer.”
Entries for the Domo Vou Talei original song competition will close on June 14.
The Fiji Times is sponsoring the Domo Vou Talei competition alongside Westpac, Communications Fiji Ltd, Knox Entertainment, Australian High Commission and FPRA.
Details on how to enter the competition can be found on the Communications Fiji Ltd (CFL) website - https://fijivillage.com/ domovoutalei.