Tag: MCSK

Gospel singer Reuben Kigame doesn’t understand show business

Posted on by Ozymandias

Reuben Kigame is understandably a frustrated man. He recently addressed his displeasure at feeling underappreciated and his music not earning him nearly what he feels he is owed off royalties yet DJs and radio personalities are minting coin.

Veteran singer Reuben Kigame accuses the government and DJ’s of stealing from him

  So, radio DJs who play my music can be paid 700,000 or more a month, that is every four weeks, but I cannot make 300,000 in 11 years from tons of recordings! It is immoral.

And while my heart goes out to him and an entire host of musicians that he speaks for, one cannot help but realize he, like a lot of other artists, do not understand just how the business that is entertainment really operates.

Reuben Kigame
Reuben Kigame

Perhaps the ignorance can be chalked up to just how obscure Kenya’s show business is conducted. Perhaps this is on him as an artist as Reuben Kigame has clearly neglected to study the business he is involved in but it is clear he has no idea how things work.

Octopizzo made a fool of himself by supporting MCSK

For starters, a radio presenter’s salary is not dependent on the music he plays. That is an entirely unrelated conversation that is dependent on the value he presents to the business he works for. that involves the number of ads he can attract to his show. That ends that.

Reuben Kigame’s frustration stems from the fact that Kenya’s bodies set up to take care of the welfare of artists (like MCSK) and collect their royalties aswell as help them negotiate good collective agreements with stakeholders such as Skiza Tunes (Safaricom’s Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT)) are less than upfront with their charges.

MCSK needs to be disbanded to protect Kenyan artists

Unfortunately, MCSK and PRISK aren’t exactly forward with artists which is why every year when they announce how much everyone has earned, there is widespread grumbling -perhaps an independent auditor should be sought for this case.

Reuben Kigame needs to learn the rules of the game

At the end of the day, music is a product in a sense. An artist creates it and puts it out to market. There are various platforms these days that serve as outlets in the market. These include Youtube and other digital platforms and terrestrial platforms like radio and TV. They collect royalties from these platforms and this, in turn, becomes their revenue.

Otile Browns reveals why fellow artists are to blame for the corrupt MCSK

I know this is a simplistic take on things but I am trying to bring Reuben Kigame and his ilk up to speed. Ofcourse there are other avenues for money making such as concerts and performances aswell as merchandising and endorsement deals to consider.

Reuben Kigame

So an act like Reuben Kigame’s would consider these but it is all dependent on how his music is received by his audience. If there is a hunger in the market for his product then he can begin to leverage that popularity. And how would he be able to tell? We can start at the views his music videos get. Or how many streams he has gotten on digital platforms. How many plays does he get on radio and TV? Do people request his songs whenever they can? From there we can also check to see how many shows he has booked.

MCSK Kando! Online music distributor sends a meager Ksh 45 as royalty to singer Laika

At the end of the day, young artists need to familiarize themselves with the rules of the game they are competing in. Secondary to that, Reuben Kigame needs a manager who understands the flow of these things. It is demand and supply at the end of the day.

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Octopizzo made a fool of himself by supporting MCSK

Posted on by Ozymandias

Does anyone remember when Octopizzo came out to vociferously defend MCSK after artists had taken up arms against the body when they previously declared paltry royalties for them?

Octopizzo defends MCSK over ‘peanut’ payments, partly blames Diamond [Interview]

I know Khaligraph Jones and Otile brown remember. I do too. And now he is left looking not only foolish but a lot like someone who was compromised. And that is the worst thing you can ever seem to be in a fraternity that depends on their unity for a collective bargaining agreement to be struck.

Octopizzo
Octopizzo

The turncoat has since been silent and I would have preferred to see Octopizzo come out and own his misspoken statements and perhaps even begin to build a bridge because, at the end of the day, he too is affected by the mismanagement of funds over at MCSK.

Octopizzo, several other artists join MCSK to celebrate collective management day

With all the information coming to light, it could be easy for him to decide that silence is his ally but in reality, it is nothing close. Namba Nane‘s finest needs to actually take responsibility for his statements which went as far as to call out his peers and colleagues. Or perhaps he was misinformed and as a result he spoke off erroneous facts? Whatever the case may be, he needs to lend his voice to the collective cacophony of noises being made in protest over what MCSK has been exposed as having continued -graft.

Octopizzo

Homie legitimately needs to read the room and decide to stand on the right side of history. When you have your peers making heartfelt pleas like the one Otile Brown made:

“Usiwahi post picha yangu mbovu,” an angry Octopizzo publicly blasts King Kaka

otilebrown
Verified

I feel you’re pain my brother @willy.paul.msafi Hakika nimelia

Mheshimiwa Rais @ukenyatta heshima yako . Samahani! Nina machache ya kusema endapo yatakufikia ???? Mimi ni msani Mzalendo wa mziki wa kizazi kipya toka hapa nchini nafahamika kama Otilebrown na
Kutokana na utafiti tunafahamu fika kua nchi hii yetu ya kenya ???????? ni nchi yenye changa moto za ukosefu wa ajira kwa vijana .Alhamdulilah! “ Wengine” tumejaaliwa vipaji vinavyotuwezesha kujipa kipato kidogo kupitia tasnia ya mziki , tumejitengenezea ajira bila usaidizi wowote wa
Serikali na bado huwa tunalipa ushuru inavyostahili bila kulalama …Chakusikitisha nikua bado hatupati tunachostahili , viongozi na wasimamizi wanatupora nakutudhulumu wakati wengi wetu tumetoka kwenye familia za kimaskini na tunategemewa kiasi kikubwa… Swali langu ni wasimamizi wa MCSK baada ya kukiri na kukubali mashtaka, ni hatua gani watachukuliwa?? Tungependa kuona wamefungwa gerezani na mali zao kuchukuliwa na kurudishwa kwenye tasnia ya sanaa .. kama kweli tuna utu na tunataka mabadiliko kwenye nchi yetu.. Inauma sanaa mheshimiwa Rais @ukenyatta
Sahii kwanzia January inasemekana kuwa serikali inataka kuanza kututoza ushuru kupita mtandao wa YouTube ambao tumekua tukitegemea baada ya kutukata tamaa na viongozi waliokataa kutupatia haki yetu na kutudhulumu hadharani ????‍♂️ Bila woga. Nahisi umefika wakati wanatukatisha tamaa , tumetengwa na hakuna anayetujali hata kile kidogo cha kulisha familia zetu kinachukuliwa.

I love my country ???????? Mwenyezi mungu tusimamie ????

Mheshimiwa Rais @ukenyatta .. we’re not asking for anything from the government but to be given, what is rightfully ours .. please please please !!!!????

Octopizzo

Octopizzo, you do not want to remain in the bracket of the turncoat. Careers have ended for less and legacy have been tainted by much less.

 

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MCSK needs to be disbanded to protect Kenyan artists

Posted on by Ozymandias

MCSK is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The GoK sanctioned body which has always been synonymous with plundering artists’monies in royalties came under scrutiny once more and there are no prizes in guessing why.

Khaligraph Jones claps back after MCSK audit report revealed theft of musician’s royalties

Trust that as a result artists are livid after finding out that an independent audit reported misappropriation of artists’ royalties. And this being the toughest year economically in recent memory, you can imagine just how livid most artists were. Willy Paul was the more vocal artist, taking to his Instagram account to insult the individuals working at MCSK. He wasn’t alone in his sentiment and I must say that this bullshit needs to be nipped in the bud.

nyashinsksi was scammed by MCSK
Nyashinski comes second among the top 20 earners list by MCSK

You see, in Kenya, jobs are scarce and unemployment is rampant. We have a crappy economy and even worse job market. Alot of youth turn to entertainment as a way out of poverty and a way to elevate themselves to a better life.

MCSK Kando! Online music distributor sends a meager Ksh 45 as royalty to singer Laika

This however, doesn’t come by easily as Kenyan record labels do not give artists fair record deals. So most artists opt to go the independent route. They sink they money into the entire process. That starts at paying for studio time, paying to market the song, sometimes paying to have the song played on radio, paying to shoot the music video, buying clothes and wardrobe for the music video.

Both stars have been scammed by MCSK
Mejja poses for a photo with Willy Paul

All this means money is flowing out of their pockets. But when they get the formula right, they begin making money either through performance rates or via royalties and since they own their own masters, this means they can make money into perpetuity. That is ofcourse, if they can make a cut after pirates have done their thing.

Artistes should not fear to ask questions about their money – Khaligraph speaks in regard to MCSK ‘peanut’ payments

Then we have MCSK. A bunch of stuffy nosed beauracrats who sit in offices and demand that artists give them the mandate to collect the royalties. The problem with that is the fact that MCSK has for a long time seemingly only been staffed by people willing to stiff those very same artists and make a killingover their collective royalties.

Octopizzo, several other artists join MCSK to celebrate collective management day

And it just bleeds my heart to think of the artists who sank in their little life savings only for them to get shafted by Covid19 lockdowns and then for MCSK to do this nonsense. And it is because of that I feel MCSK needs to be disbanded. Stop allowing people to scam artists in the name of their being a government agency.

At this rate, you might aswell allow the artists to collect their royalties themselves because they surely cannot do any worse.

 

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Octopizzo, several other artists join MCSK to celebrate collective management day

Posted on by Pauline Syombua

The second edition of the African Copyright and Collective Management Day officially kicked off today, Septemeber 14 and will focus on celebrating author’s rights.

Creators and authors societies will be joined by special artist ambassadors for the Africa-wide event which has hopes to inform, educate and draw attention to the vibrant contributions of creators and copyright to the lives of millions throughout Africa and beyond.

Copyright and collective management are tools for creators, just like paintbrushes, guitars or cameras. They are also keys to economic development, contributing enormously to the well-being of countries and continents. This is why CISAC is helping raise awareness about its importance across Africa.

Music Copyright Society of Kenya(MCSK) has also made sure that Kenya has also celebrated the event.

MCSK has chosen to celebrate this important event by partnering with broadcasters, through its Copyright Ambassadors by visiting the major broadcasting stations and appealing to them and other users to pay royalties for the benefit of all authors.

Pay

Time has come for Kenyan creators to express themselves with dignity for their rights and the protection of their works not only regarding themselves but also for their children who will embrace the career of being artists’ tomorrow.

The event comes at a time when the Collective Management Organisation (CMO) sent the highest amount of cash to their 14,000 members after collecting Ksh 37 million.

In a tweet, MCSK explained that they have not received any money from any broadcasters who exploit local music adding that the best way was to do a general distribution

“We made a general distribution because if we strictly followed scientific distribution then 70% of the money collected will be paid to the international societies. We all know that Kenyan music receives little airplay. The figures you’d received would be less.” Read the tweet. 

The society sent Ksh 2500 to each member, the highest they have since they started.