President Uhuru Kenyatta has officially banished the collection of artist royalties by CMOs Skiza tune and Viusasa deaming it an exploitation of the artists.
"Regarding Content Service Providers, my intent is to support the sector using a multi-pronged approach.Content Service Providers who work with digital platforms such as SKIZA and Viusasa, will be eliminated. And this is because they sit outside the Collection Management Organisations. My practical direction on this is to have all rights holders register on the National Rights Registry." said President Kenyatta.
Adding "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 that the collection and distribution accounts are easily auditable."
The President also revealed that the Kenya Copyrights Board, with assistance of the Ministry of ICT, has already reviewed and agreed on the Tariffs for 2020. These tariffs are to be gazetted and will form the basis on which compliance will be monitored.
He further directed that the Ministry of ICT, in consultation with the AG’s office, to ensure the tariffs are gazetted within the next 30 days.
"Further, I direct the Ministry to remove conditions requiring digital platform to only work through licensed Content Service Providers. This will enable musicians to work directly with platforms such as Sikiza" he said in his speech
This move has caught a mixed reaction from artists especially on probability of it working out for the benefit of the industry.
