Government should fund musicians and content creators – Ezekiel Mutua
The Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) boss Ezekiel Mutua has asked the government to invest in Kenyan artists.
Speaking in an interview on NTV, Mutua said that the government should fund musicians and content creators.
Further, he urged the government to have competitions for musicians and reward those producing good songs.
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Insisting that there should be national awards for artists who release songs that are affecting society, Mutua shared that with such an outlook, musicians will do research before going to the studios.
“Government should fund musicians and content creators to produce quality content that promotes positive social behaviour. Music and art are powerful vehicles for socio-cultural development,” he observed.
Musicians and content creators have been funding themselves or partnering with brands when they are releasing their songs both audio and video.
However, the industry has been marred with songs that have obscene scenes and vulgar language. Be it as it may, musicians have been lamenting over receiving low royalties faulting the MCSK which has had a long history of controversy in regard to the subject matter.
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After he was appointed the MCSK boss, Dr Mutua promised a new start saying that he would make musicians billionaires.
“There’s so much money belonging to musicians that are being held by different copyright consumers because of mistrust and allegations of mismanagement,” he said.
Early this year, the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) stopped the collection of music royalties but Dr Mutua defied the orders insisting that MCSK would carry on with the exercise.
In a letter dated January 11th 2023, the MCSK wrote to the Office of the Ombudsman (Commission on Administrative Justice) calling for the removal of the KECOBO Executive Director Edward Sigei from office.
MCSK accused Mr Sigei of high-handedness and abuse of office.
“While MCSK has done everything to comply with the law and serve its members effectively, it has faced numerous frustrations from the regulator, particularly the person of Mr Edward Sigei who appears conflicted and hell-bent on killing the music industry,” read part of the letter.
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