I know it s old, but – does this song ring any bell?

Right.

“Waka Waka” – theme song of the 2010 football world championships, written by Shakira, Wikipedia says.

The FIFA website states that “the song was written by Shakira, the world-famous singer from Latin America”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_Waka_(This_Time_for_Africa)

This topic might seem unrelated to what i normally write about -

but, there are some connections anyway:

1. Sony Music is one of those corps that defend so-called intellectual property against “pirates”, with claws and teeth. Right.

2. It might also be a side somment to the (grossly oversimplified) question sometimes asked: why is Africa poor? Maybe, because we have yet to see african comapnies make millions with stolen european songs?

Anyway, there was a song that s always been one of my guilty pleasures – the kind of song you wouldnt admit to liking,
but yes, i have always liked it a lot.

No wonder i thought it sounded really african …
Well hey, if we steal the continents minerals and energy, why not take its music too.

I read that many Cameroonians are really proud this song was chosen as the 2010 anthem – and i ll respect that feeling, of course … but it s almost ironic.

I also read that the original songwriters have been paid some amount of money – i cant help but wonder what share of the total revenue.

Others have researched this in more depth than i have – here s some starting points for reading:

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/03/waka-waka-hey-hey.html

http://www.sutmundo.com/origins-of-the-waka-waka-shakira-world-cup-song/