For the foreseeable future, Kenyan musicians will be smiling all the way to the bank thanks to a directive given by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The musicians had reached out to Uhuru over their earnings citing hardships and low pay and in his address at State House on Monday, March 6, he fulfilled his pledge.
The president disclosed that the state would increase royalty earnings for artists to Ksh200 million per month, a figure that translates to a payout of Ksh2 billion by the end of the year.
"The Ministry of ICT in collaboration with Kenya Copyright Board has established a framework I asked them to in January. Last year, combined payments did not exceed Ksh200 million.
"Starting this month, all our local artists will be earning a total of Ksh 200 million per month that will be paid to musicians. This will translate to over Ksh2 billion going into the pockets of our young artists," stated the president.
He further noted that the payment was to start immediately. For Coronavirus preparedness, the president directed the Ministry of Sports to set aside Ksh100 million to cater for the category.
"I also direct the Ministry of Sports to avail additional support of Ksh100million from the sports fund to our artists so they can continue to entertain their fellow brothers and sisters through TV, Radio, and the Internet," he added.
In January 2020, the president, in a press conference, overhauled the structure in which musicians would receive royalties directing them to register on a new, centralized National Rights Registry.
All royalties payments were channelled to a central account at the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO).
The new structure was expected to see royalty payments for musicians, in particular, rise from the current Ksh200 million a year to Ksh2 billion a year.
"My practical direction on this is to have all rights-holders register on a National Rights Registry. To receive royalties, content service providers will be required to channel all payments of royalties through a single centrally-managed account at the Kenya Copyright Board.
"This will enable oversight by the regulator and ensure the collection and distribution accounts are easily audited," Uhuru explained while addressing the nation from State House, Mombasa, at the time.
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