Nigerian Gospel Artist, Sinach, Sued Over Publishing Rights

Ige says Oluwole, credited as a producer on the record, isn’t asking for co-creator credit but to be included in the profits of the song’s unprecedented success. Meanwhile, he says Sinach has maintained that because Oluwole didn’t contribute writing to the song because she had written the song before approaching Oluwole and because he was paid $300 for his initial contribution to the record, there was no ground for further compensation.

But without a signed agreement from both parties, Ige says his team has a case per the law stipulating that in a non-agreement, the rights of a song remain with the composer and not the artist. “Nothing stops us from coming to a new agreement, but she [Sinach] has refused.”

What’s at stake here?

Although “Way Maker” was released in 2016, the song formally took off in 2020 during the quarantine days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song topped the Christian airplay and church worship charts in the U.S., scored covers from internationally renowned gospel artists, including Michael W. Smith, and was honored with the BMI Song of the Year in 2021, among other feats.

The ongoing case between Oluwole and Sinach raises essential questions about contractual agreements within the Nigerian gospel music industry and the broader Nigerian music industry. The case could set a precedence for how producers are compensated and how they share in the proceeds from a record. Songwriters, artists and producers need to get royalties and publishing rights based on the agreements reached by all parties involved. In Nigeria, music publishing rights and royalties remain poorly defined, leading to many artists becoming entangled in unsustainable and exploitative contracts.

In this case, the absence of an agreement opens the situation to possibilities and could potentially set a precedent for how music producers are acknowledged and compensated in Nigeria. “The fact there is no agreement works in favor of Michael,” Ige says. “And what gives him his right is that he created and performed as an instrumentalist on the record. He has a right as a major performer on the record.” Before Oluwole brought this lawsuit against Sinach, the singer had filed a defamation claim against Oluwole after he spoke to journalistDaddy Freeze on an Instagram live in 2022. Ige says that during the suit, the court-appointed a mediator who set up mediation sessions that Sinach refused to participate in, further giving her unwillingness to enter a dialogue a selfish tint, Ige suggests.

Ige also finds this particularly interesting, as both Sinach and Oluwole are creatives and understand the fear of potential exploitation. “It shouldn’t be fellow creative people exploiting creative people, yeah, especially within the gospel scene,” Ige says.

As the case makes its way to court, Ige says this ordeal has cost Oluwole a sense of psychological and financial distress. “When you are denied what is due to you on your most successful work, that does something to you psychologically,” Ige says.

Ige describes the situation as heartbreaking; Oluwole has always held Sinach in high esteem, and being sued by her and ultimately filing a suit against her was unexpected. There is also the matter of lost revenue. “If Sinach had properly recognized him as a co-creator on the work and they had signed the necessary split agreements, then he would have been earning revenue all these years properly, which would have made his life better financially.”

According to Ige, a favorable outcome would be for Oluwole to receive proper acknowledgment, for the court to compel Sinach to disclose the song’s earnings, and for Oluwole to be compensated appropriately. More importantly, Ige says that for Oluwole, “We are hoping to achieve that psychological satisfaction of ‘I fought for my rights, and I got it.’”