Sony AI Copyright Tracker Puts Nigeria’s Music Law Gaps Under Pressure

Sony Group’s latest artificial intelligence music-detection system is reigniting debate around copyright enforcement in Nigeria, where the law has been updated recently but still leaves major grey areas on AI-era music use. The tool, introduced by Sony AI, is designed to help rights owners trace whether copyrighted songs were used in AI workflows and to support claims for revenue when unauthorised use is proven.

For Nigeria’s fast-growing music market, the conversation is urgent. Afrobeats has become globally influential, but enforcement and metadata standards at home remain uneven. Industry operators say that gap makes it easier for AI-generated works to mimic or repurpose Nigerian music without timely detection, compensation, or attribution.

How Sony’s detection model works

According to details in the report, Sony’s system can operate on two tracks. Where an AI developer cooperates, the system can inspect training data directly to determine whether protected catalogue works were used. Where access is denied, it can compare final generated tracks against known catalogues and look for evidence of overlap.

In either case, the commercial purpose is clear: rights holders can move from suspicion to proof and then to monetisation claims, licensing demands, or legal action where infringement is established.

Why this matters in Nigeria now

Nigeria’s Copyright Act was signed on 17 March 2023, replacing the 2004 law and introducing fresh protections. But specialists say the statute does not yet squarely answer several core AI questions. It protects human-created works, yet leaves uncertainty around whether scraping songs to train models should be treated as fair use or infringement. It also remains unclear on ownership where output is largely machine-generated.

That leaves a practical enforcement gap. The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has authority to request information and inspect systems where infringement is suspected, but proving exactly what an AI model ingested is still difficult without robust technical detection tools.

A growing global pressure point

The issue is not Nigeria-only. By early 2026, industry observers estimate roughly 50,000+ AI-generated tracks are being uploaded daily on some platforms. At the same time, major labels are in active legal disputes over alleged use of protected catalogues without permission.

Universal, Sony and Warner have pursued claims against AI music platforms such as Suno and Udio, arguing that model training on copyrighted music without consent amounts to “mass copyright infringement.”

For Nigerian creators who rely heavily on streaming and digital reach, those global disputes are no longer abstract. Outcomes abroad will shape licensing norms, evidence standards and payment expectations that affect Afrobeats rights owners directly.

Real examples already in circulation

The report highlights a local-facing case involving singer Fave. An unauthorised AI choir version of her 2025 track “Intentions” reportedly spread on TikTok under the name Urban Chords. She later released her own version with AI elements, but the episode illustrates a recurring creator complaint: by the time artists discover unauthorised derivatives, streams, attention and income may already have shifted.

Analysts say this time lag is one of the biggest financial risks in the AI music era. If detection comes late, recovery becomes harder even where legal rights are clear.

Industry voices: adapt fast or lose ground

Joseph Abiagom, former president of Aristokrat Records and current founder/CEO of Run Am Projects, argues that Nigeria’s ecosystem must first accept that AI is already embedded in global music production. In his view, local debate is still split between scepticism and unclear adoption, even though many international markets have moved from “if” to “how” on AI integration.

He says Nigerian stakeholders need practical readiness: licensed African datasets, stronger technical companies in music intelligence, and faster capital support for tools that can manage rights monitoring, royalty prediction and evidence gathering.

His warning is that much of the local industry still runs informally, creating structural weaknesses when disputes move into data-heavy, machine-auditable environments.

Legal response cannot wait for perfect policy

Entertainment and intellectual property lawyer Henry Ezikeoha takes a similar urgency line. He says businesses most exposed to harm should lead first-response action rather than waiting on lengthy public-sector cycles.

In his words: “I’m of the view that generally the first responders to a disadvantage of technology are largely those who are affected. The music companies are in the business to make money, so protecting their IP is the way out. If not, they’ll run out of business.”

Ezikeoha also points to the speed gap between regulation and technology, noting how long legal reform took before the current Copyright Act was signed in 2023. He argues private rights holders, publishers and labels should adopt available detection technology immediately while legislative updates continue.

He adds that existing legal provisions can still be used in many cases because unauthorised exploitation of protected works is already prohibited. For him, the bigger bottleneck is not the complete absence of law but the evidence challenge.

As he put it: “With that foundation, anyone who tries to use AI illegally can always be nailed down on one or two sections of the law. That one is for sure. Because everything still borders on illegal use of a copyrighted work.”

Metadata and platform controls remain weak links

Music analyst Excel Umeh describes Sony’s move as encouraging, especially because it signals global rights players are investing attention in the Nigerian market. But he questions how effective enforcement can be without fixing chronic metadata and crediting gaps across local distribution pipelines.

His concern is that detection tools alone cannot solve bad input data. If rights information is incomplete or inconsistent at upload stage, tracing ownership disputes becomes harder, even with advanced AI systems.

Umeh calls on digital streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal to strengthen AI detection, identity checks and ownership verification before uploads go live. He also supports clearer labelling of AI-generated content so listeners and rights owners can distinguish synthetic releases from human-origin recordings.

What the NCC can do now

Experts say the commission already has enough authority to begin practical interventions without waiting for a full statutory rewrite. Suggested near-term actions include piloting Sony-style detection against Nigerian catalogues, publishing technical standards for local detection tools, and partnering international providers to scan Afrobeats-heavy datasets at scale.

There is also a domestic innovation angle. Universities and Nigerian technology firms could adapt detection systems to local sonic patterns such as Afrobeat rhythm structures, pidgin vocal signatures and highlife sampling traditions that broad global models may not classify well.

That local adaptation could improve both enforcement accuracy and market confidence for rights owners, especially independent labels and publishers without multinational legal budgets.

Economic stakes for artists and labels

The cost of delay is rising. AI systems outside Nigeria are already being trained on broad internet-accessible libraries that may include Nigerian songs. Resulting outputs can monetise globally while original creators struggle to secure attribution and payment.

Streaming platforms also face trust and data-quality risks when AI uploads imitate known records but slip through moderation. The report references examples such as AI versions of Stromae’s “Papaoutai” circulating during the 2026 AFCON period, underscoring how quickly unofficial variants can spread ahead of rights resolution.

Sony’s footprint in Nigeria raises the stakes further. Through Sony Music West Africa and Sony Music Publishing Nigeria, and with ties to artists including Davido (via RCA Records since 2016), Wizkid, Tems, Lojay, 1da Banton, Odeal, Bright Chimezie and Ric Hassani, the group’s global AI enforcement push is likely to influence local expectations on rights control.

From warning to implementation

The central message from industry participants is straightforward: detection capability is no longer theoretical. The technology exists, private actors are already deploying it, and major legal battles are setting precedents in real time.

What Nigeria needs now is coordinated execution: better data discipline from labels and distributors, faster evidence-led enforcement from regulators, and practical AI-readiness investments from the broader ecosystem.

If those pieces align, Nigerian creators can protect catalogue value while still participating in AI-driven innovation. If they do not, unauthorised derivatives will continue to scale faster than enforcement, and rights owners may keep losing revenue in a market where speed decides value capture.

In short, Sony’s tool does more than introduce a new technical product. It exposes a policy and market test for Nigeria: whether the country can close the gap between legal intent and digital-era enforcement before its most valuable music IP leaks further into systems built elsewhere.