Local musicians now have a reason to smile after Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja asked media houses to pay artists royalties or risk being deregistered.
Sakaja who is the Chaiman of the Senate Committee on Labour and Social welfare said that every media house regardless of the size should be de-registered if they fail to dispatch the required money.
The youthful senator stated that broadcasters are bias as they charge advertisers to broadcast and cease airing the ads if they fail to pay even for a day adding that media houses earn a lot of money airing content they don’t pay for.
Required standards
He further urged club owners to seek guidance from stake holders; (NEMA), County Governments and Kenya Copyright Board on the required standards in the day-to-day club operations.
The Kenyan music industry has been faced with myriad of challenges over the years. Musicians have for a long time cried foul over failure of media houses to pay royalties. They have taken to the streets to agitate for not only better pay but also favoritism in the airplay.
The Music Copyright Society of Kenya has severally been accused of lack of management and professionalism in the manner in which they collect and distribute royalties.
Musicians like Avril have in the past thrown shade at media houses pointing out that they are paid ‘peanuts’ for their content.