From 54 artistes PRISK now has more than 2800 members
They started with just only 54 artistes in 2012 and now Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) have grown to more than 2,800 members.
The performer’s body are set to hold its 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 28th, as it celebrates the tremendous growth in all its areas of operation.
PRISK, being the only performers’ body not only in the country but in East Africa, has grown its membership base by over 2000 percent.
According to PRISK Chairperson, Beatrice Achieng, licensing revenue has also grown significantly over that period of time, from Sh 11million in license fees in 2012 to approximately Sh 60million by end of 2016.
CHALLENGES
She said that they are pleased with the progress of the organization despite the murky environment that Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) operate in the country.
Key among the challenges she cited is the copyright arena in Kenya, especially, in the area of related rights which is still developing.
“The situation is grim being characterized by numerous court cases between CMOs and users of sound recordings and audio-visual works, lack of proper techno savvy structures to effectively and efficiently collect license fees, lack of proper legal framework to regulate the operations and administrative functions of the CMOs, among others,” said Ms Achieng.
She added that she was pleased with the role that PRISK has played in addressing some of these issues in collaboration with the other CMOs in the country.
STAKEHOLDERS
In collaboration with Government departments and KAMP, a comprehensive Music Policy was developed and presented to the Ministry of Sports Culture and the Arts in 2015.
This Policy is awaiting Parliament approval and PRISK continues to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that it is both enacted and implemented.
A great achievement for 2016 was the remittance of the SKIZA royalty payments to musicians through the CMOs in the better part of the year.
She concluded by saying that in the coming two years, they are looking forward to maintaining the momentum it has so far set in the collective management industry.
“This is by providing more leading edge services to enable all the members truly benefit from the opportunities created by the digital age,” Achieng added.