Performing and Audio Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK) Board of Directors chairperson Edwardo Waigwa, flanked by fellow directors addressing the press during the organisation's AGM at a Nairobi Hotel on September 16, 2025/COURTESYArtists receive Sh24 million in first royalty payout by PAVRISK 5,887 artists benefit as PAVRISK issues Sh24 million in inaugural distribution
Performing and Audio Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK) has today disbursed Sh24 million to artists as royalty distribution.
PAVRISK Board of Directors chairperson Edwardo Waigwa said the disbursement, which accounts for 70 percent of the total, is 45 million collected in the 2024/ 2025 financial year.
He said the Sh24 million was distributed to 5,887 members as the inaugural general distribution.
Speaking during the organisation's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at a Nairobi Hotel, Waigwa said PAVRISK has satisfied its mandatory regulation of 70-30 percent royalty distribution rule.
He said PAVRISK gave Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and Related Copyright Sh6.9 million to distribute to its members under the category of Sound Recording Producers as per the operation consent entered between the two CMOs.
"We made the achievement despite battling several legal court cases as we fought to retain our legal operating license issued to us by KECOBO,” he said.
He added: “This distribution is a moral and institutional milestone: it proves that investments in systems and governance yield results for rights-holders. Going forward we will continue to refine distribution algorithms, expand monitoring coverage and ensure that payouts are timely, transparent and traceable.”
PAVRISK is a Multirights Collection Management Organisation (CMO), registered, licensed, and regulated by Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to collect and distribute royalties to musicians and audio-visual right holders.
It is a member of several international organisations, including Africa Federation of Audio-Visual Societies (AFAS) based in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Global Audio-Visual Association (GAVA) based in Geneva.
Waigwa at the same time stated that PAVRISK is in the process of joining IFPI for phonogram producers and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) for Authors/composers.
In addition, it has signed 36 bilateral agreements with global CMOs across the world. During the meeting, the chairperson also highlighted the plans they have in place.
He pointed out that the immediate policy priority is the gazetting of new tariffs in compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements following the annulment of prior instruments.
This, he said, lead an inclusive consultation process engaging members, BMOs and KECOBO to produce tariffs that are lawful, benchmarked, and sensitive to Kenya’s economic context.
“Proper public participation and statutory compliance will be non-negotiable in this process,” he said.
“Operationally, we will scale digital licensing capabilities, expand the licensing champion model across subsectors (hospitals, malls, broadcasters, supermarkets, banks, and hospitality), and deepen county-level engagements to broaden coverage. We will also continue to invest in media monitoring and real-time analytics to ensure distributions reflect actual usage and to close revenue leakages in new media and streaming platforms.”
The AGM, which was also held virtual, was attended by PAVRISK Board of Directors and CEO Joseph Njagih, among others.
