Kenyan president announces new royalty collection framework

The new directive was made by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his state of the nation address at State House in Mombasa on 14 January. 

Kenyatta said the new directive would ensure that digital platforms such as Skiza and Viusasa no longer paid royalties via CSPs but through a single royalty distribution account owned by the three Kenyan collective management organisation (CMOs): the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK). The account would be managed by KECOBO for the purpose of accountability.

"The Kenya Copyright Board, with the assistance of the Ministry of ICT [Information Communications and Technology], has already reviewed and agreed on the tariffs for 2020. These tariffs are to be gazetted and will form the basis on which compliance will be monitored.”

Kenyatta said the new tariffs would be made public within the next 30 days and further directed the Ministry of ICT to remove the conditions that require digital platforms to only work through licensed CSPs. This, he said, would “enable musicians to work directly with platforms such as Skiza.”

Presently, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) is mandated to issue CSPs with licences in accordance with the Information and Communications Act.

Additionally, the music industry’s biggest consumers – such as broadcasters and the hospitality industry – will have to comply by paying the required tariffs or risk losing their business licences. Rightsholders have also been urged to register their works with the National Rights Registry. 

These new framework announced by Kenyatta is based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 20 December by KECOBO and the CMOs.

The MoU mentions the following:

1. Procurement of a single digital solution/ICT system in 90 days to enhance transparency in licence fee collection, media monitoring of rights holders' works and distribution of royalties.
2. Creation of a digital National Rights Registry where rights holders will upload their work.
3. CMOs to send out an invitation to tender advertisement of the digital solution/system as stipulated in the procurement procedures.

If well implemented, the new regulations could significantly increase the industry’s annual royalty collection figures.

“Hundreds of our young men and women have invested an incredible amount of effort in the industry but are getting very low returns from their investment,” Kenyatta said. “We must allow their investments to pay off so that many more can follow them into one of the industries that we can do exceptionally well in.”