Finally, there's a spark of light at the end of the tunnel for Kenyan musicians, who stand to gain tremendously if a Bill by Sports, Culture and Arts ministry becomes law.
The Music Bill seeks at establishing a single agency, preferably at the Kenya Revenue Authority, to collect artistes’ revenues.
For the longest time in Kenya, artistes have had to deal with numerous challenges in regards to their revenue collection.
Endless conflicts, especially within the premier revenue-collecting body Music Copyright Society of Kenya, have been some of the major problems facing the Kenyan music industry.
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The Bill comes at a time when the ministry, led by CS Hassan Wario, has embarked on bringing reforms to the revenue-sharing and tax regimes that have for long put musicians at an awkward position.
This has created confusion in the multi-billion industry, particularly over the music royalties.
During a meeting with Kenya Gospel and Secular Artistes Federation representatives held in Nairobi on Thursday, the PS in charge of the Culture and Arts docket Joe Okudo, pointed out that the government was reforming the uneven revenue-sharing and tax regimes with an aim of resuscitating creativity among Kenyan artistes.
He said: “It is time we put a stop to the confusion in the industry which has seen unnecessary duplication of roles by various agencies and allowed room for masqueraders.”
Joe added that businesses were getting distressed and harassed when different agents call or show up at their premises in the name of collecting fees.
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He said that the Bill would change all that and bring a paradigm shift to the industry.
Currently, three agencies are mandated by law to collect musicians' revenue in Kenya.
They are the MCSK, Performance Rights Society of Kenya and Kenya Association of Music Producers.
In August last year, the three collective management organisations signed a partnership that would harmonise their operations in regards to royalties collection.
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However, more than a year later, the three entities are yet to fully operationalise the agreement, regarding a standard formula of collection and distribution of the said royalties.
Artistes continue to suffer as politics and squabbles reign supreme at the CMOs, causing unending distress to majority of local musicians.
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