( CNN ) -- Nigeria 's music industry is flourishing . However , it faces a big threat -- the scourge of piracy . But the tide is changing , say the country 's top music stars , who are stepping up efforts to reform the industry and are putting pressure on the government to crackdown on pirates . One of Nigeria 's most celebrated artists is among those calling for action to stamp out the problem . `` Piracy is still a very massive issue because there is no control in terms of producing the CDs and no barcodes . You do n't even know where it is coming from , '' said hip-hop and RnB star Innocent Idibia , popularly known as 2Face . Idibia is no stranger to the international scene and his music has won him a string of awards both at home and abroad . But while he has been recognized for his work he feels that back home there is a lack of respect for artists and that the police do not view piracy as a serious crime . `` A policeman might be standing here , someone might be selling pirated copies over there and he would n't even look at it as though someone is committing a crime and he might even buy one ! '' he said . `` They love the music , they want to listen to it , they dance to it , they buy the pirated copies , but the respect for the actual intellectual property is not there , '' he continued . Only a decade ago , there were only one or two compact disc production plants . Today there are 28 in operation and the country has its own copyright commission , the Nigerian Copyright Commission ( NCC ) . According to the latest Strategic Action Against Piracy report released in 2011 from the NCC , piracy of CDs , VCDs , DVDs cost just over $ 3.5 million a year . But despite the increase in popularity and availability of discs , the CEO of one of West Africa 's leading media and entertainment companies thinks piracy is hindering the country 's success on the international stage . `` When the international majors were in Nigeria they never invested in the back end of the industry , so there is no formal distribution in place , '' said Obi Asika , founder of Storm 360 . `` There needs to be major investment into distribution and we are speaking to some of the major fulfillment companies , '' he continued . `` The key issue is that Nigerian businesses need to recognize that this is a significant opportunity which might be worth over a couple of billion dollars a year . '' Nigeria 's YouTube poet . Asika believes that the mobile industry could be the key place to push African music legitimately . He is helping to launch Spinlet , a music download service going live in December . `` We have over 90 million mobiles in Nigeria and over 40 million are in the youth space . The key issues facing the industry are the need to build a proper touring platform , a live scene , and also for major companies and government to begin to pay for the use of music across all platforms , '' he said . `` We think Spinlet will make a major impact in terms of getting real revenues back to artists , labels , producers and managers returns on their music , '' he added . Last year the industry decided to close ranks and establish the Copyright Society of Nigeria ( COSON ) to give advice to artists about copyright and licensing their music . The collective also promotes the rights of artists and acts as an industry watchdog . The NCC and COSON are backing Storm 360 to release an anti-piracy song early next year as part of a wider national campaign . Asika hopes that artists like 2Face will get involved to help educate music fans about the problem of piracy . `` Education , communication , campaign -- if you do not educate people you can not expect them to know there is a real problem , '' he said . Idibia says the issue of piracy is even more aggravating considering the difficulties Nigerian artists face in getting their music to market . He compares the emergence of artists in Africa to `` rose flowers growing from rocks . '' But he says the good thing about the African music scene is artists are not afraid to speak up for what they believe in , which could help improve their rights . `` The trend is we get ourselves involved in everything that affects our lives and we speak out . We talk about it , '' he said .
Music piracy in Nigeria is a widespread problem . Music star 2Face says the police need to enforce tougher sanctions for pirates . A top Nigerian music producer says better education is needed to fight piracy .