allAfrica.com: Kenya: Royalties Collection Agency Marks First Great Year (Page 1 of 1)

The Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) is celebrating the first anniversary since the Government, through the Kenya Copyright Board, gave it the licence to be the sole agency to collect royalties on behalf of musicians and composers.

And, according to the MCSK officials, it has been a remarkable year.

Listing some of the remarkable milestones, vice-chairman Tom K'Odiyo says the organisation has seen the membership increase from just 400 last year and that now stands at 1,300.

"This to us is a sign that we are helping musicians to understand their rights to royalties when their music is used, and it is also telling us that there is confidence in the organisation," says K'Odiyo, himself a well known benga artiste.

He explains that the awareness campaign targeting music users, which MCSK launched last year, has also been successful, arguing that many who did not have the licence in the past have now obtained them.

"The problem has been that music users have not been aware of their obligation to get the licence for the use of music," he adds. "Many people were surprised, but are now more than willing to pay up."

Broadcasting stations

Besides broadcasting stations, they have been able to get the message through to businesses such as banks, restaurants, discos, bars, salons and almost any other establishment that benefits from using music in their premises.

They are also in the process of pursuing owners of public service vehicles such as matatus and taxis.

Nairobi, in particular, has been very fruitful and there has been very positive response from businesses, thanks largely to the partnership between MCSK and the city council to raise awareness.

"We are very positive that the other municipal and county councils around the country will follow in to the footsteps of Nairobi," says K'Odiyo, who is based in Kisumu.

This positive response has seen the collections grow, and the proceeds are passed onto the members.

In the course of the past six months, musicians received a "general collection" of Sh6,000 each. This is whether the broadcasting stations played their music or not.

Those who had their music played by the broadcasting stations received a lot more, depending on how often their music was aired. And this was the highest payment so far.

"In this environment, we should be collecting something in the region of Sh60 million in a year, and that is what we are projecting," says K'Odiyo confidently.

But perhaps one of his organisation's greatest achievements is the campaign that has seen it bring on board a new generation of artistes.

In the past, the fight for royalties was seen to be fronted by the older generation of musicians and composers, with very little input from the younger ones. But this has now changed, with about 50 well known young artistes from every genre joining in.

In fact, a number of younger artistes have come together under the umbrella of Ambassadors of MCSK, and they include genge star Jua Cali, rapper Nonini, Nameless, Amani and Nyota Ndogo, Fundi Frank, Iddi Achieng, Esther Wahome and Jemimah Thiongo.

"We have come together to help the officials in raising awareness about our plight as musicians," says Iddi who recently released a DVD of her music to date.

"It is better for us as musicians to approach music users and tell them about why they need to pay the licence fee than have bureaucrats do so."

Iddi's sentiments are echoed by Jua Cali, who is known for the song, Bidii Yangu, and who is arguably the most successful young artiste in Kenya today.

He adds: "As ambassadors of MCSK, we are the ones who go out there and reassure music users that the money they pay for using out music gets to us."

The two musicians were speaking at Nairobi's Hilton Hotel recently, where they had joined he MCSK board of directors at a press briefing to update music users on the organisation's progress.

During the function, the two and fellow young artistes Nonini and Mwafrika mingled with veterans such as CDM Kiratu, John Nzenze and Juma Toto.

"The appeal is for radio stations to play more of our music instead of foreign ones, as this means more income to make music the decent profession it deserves to be," Iddi said on behalf of Ambassadors of MCSK.

MCSK has also benefited from sponsorships and technical support from international organisations such as the Association of Collection Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Last month, MCSK general manager Maurice Okoth and the licensing staff travelled for an exchange programme in Malawi, and they will be going to Australia later in the year to learn from the established collection agencies there.

The visits are sponsored by WIPO whose officials have been in the country to train MCSK staff on intellectual property issues.

But not everything has been smooth during the year. Last month, a group calling itself the National Music Copyright Society (Namcos), led by veteran musician Joseph Kamaru, wrote to the local media houses raising concerns over what they term MCSK's inability to fairly collect and distribute royalties.

But Kiratu, also an MCSK director says: "The licence is renewable every year, and any other organisation, including Namcos, is free to apply when the times comes. We have done our job fairly and musicians all over the country are our witnesses."

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