East Africa to fight music piracy with harmonised laws

During a press briefing on 11 December, Mutua revealed that the policies had been forwarded to the East African Legislative Assembly for approval.

Uniform laws are expected to guide cooperation in the fight against music piracy, which has been the bane of the industry. Earlier this year, EAC member states opened their borders with the aim of boosting trade in the region. Hopefully, unified music laws will not only boost artists’ earnings but ensure increased music trade of music in the region.

However, Mutua said piracy was even more rampant on digital platforms.

In Kenya, a CD with pirated songs costs between 30 shillings (30 US cents) and 50 shillings. One can also have music transferred to a USB stick or an external hard disk.

Artists, through the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), have tried to beat piracy by selling their music directly to telecommunication companies such as Safaricom.

The agreement between the MCSK and Safaricom stipulates that artists get 70% of the revenue while the telecom company gets 30% to cover administration costs. Fans buy songs for as little as 10 shillings.

Most East African artists don’t know their rights or how royalties work. Therefore, to ensure that they don’t fall victim to piracy any longer, the KFCB, through a nationwide campaign, has set out to educate them.