The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has announced a plan by the government to create a Sacco that will issue loans to creatives.
According to a statement released by the Board on Thursday, KECOBO was in talks with the Ministry of Cooperatives to create the proposed Sacco.
“The Board is in the process of engaging the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises Development to establish artists and creatives' savings cooperative society (SACCO) that will allow artists to borrow at a lower rate,” read the statement in part.
Further alongside the creation of the Sacco, the government also disclosed that it was in the process of creating recording studios across all counties, for creators to record for free.
“We are also going to work with county governments for the establishment of recording studios in every county where artists and content creators will record for free,” stated KECOBO.
These initiatives were announced after the Board confirmed having recorded an increase in its royalties collection.
According to KECOBO, the royalties had revved up to Ksh2.2 million a day from the previous collection of Ksh650,000.
KECOBO further attributed this growth in revenue to the change in the collecting authority after the issuance of the license to the Performing and Audio-Visual Rights Society of Kenya.
“The Board notes that following the issuance of a Collective Management Organization license to Performing and Audio-Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK), collection of royalties from music users has increased from a daily collection of Ksh600,000 to Ksh2.2 million daily,” read the statement.
Further, the daily collection is expected to rise to Ksh3 million daily with the introduction of an enhanced system and support from music users.
According to KECOBO, the revenue collected in total was Ksh22 Million as of June 18, 2024.
The Board further stated that they would be disbursing the revenues collected with 70 per cent expected to be disbursed to artists.
