‘RESPECT ARTISTES’ NONINI FIRES BACK AT EZEKIEL MUTUA

Kenyan rapper Hubert Nakitare, popularly known as Nonini, challenged Ezekiel Mutua, the CEO of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), regarding the allocation of royalties to Kenyan artists.

In an interview on Citizen TV, Nonini criticised the MCSK and Kenyan Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) for disregarding the mandated directive to allocate 70 percent of the collected royalties.

 “Artists know the amount of money they should earn. A majority of those I represent have not been paid and their songs are always played. Why is money being collected and distributed in bits? Royalties are distributed once. There is no day these people have distributed 70 percent.”

Adding, “If you cannot follow the government’s mandate what are you doing? He is an employee of artists and he must respect them. Since when have you seen an employee arguing with his bosses?” 

In a statement shared on his X platform, Mutua voiced his opposition to government initiatives aimed at implementing digital Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). He maintained that copyright administration should remain with private management.”Kenya is a signatory to the Bern Convention as well as WIPO which dictate against interference by the state on administration of copyright as a private property. The Government supports CMOs with enforcement and enact proper policies to protect Intellectual property.

World over music business is run privately through CMOs because the Government is not good at doing business. In fact, this Government has already announced its intention to privatise most of its parastatals to make them more profitable. It would  therefore be a contradiction in terms to meddle in the running of private music businesses.”