CISAC rallies support for private copying levy expansion in West Africa

South African musician and CISAC vice-president Yvonne Chaka Chaka joined government officials, enforcement agencies and other parties involved in the implementation of the private copying directive. She thanked the economic bloc for supporting creators and encouraged further efforts to complete the process.

In September 2023, the council of ministers of the eight UEMOA member states – Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Guinea-Bissau – unanimously adopted a new regional directive to harmonise rules on private copying. CISAC has played a key advisory role on the legislation, which promises bigger revenues for creators and the creative industries. Only two UEMOA countries, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, currently have functional private copying schemes.

A private copying levy is a government-mandated system in which an added tax is charged on purchases of recordable media like CDs, hard drives and USB flash drives.

In a keynote address to the seminar on 5 February, Yvonne Chaka Chaka lauded the regional community for helping to reward creators with a new remuneration stream.

“I really want to congratulate you and the UEMOA commission for enabling the adoption of the directive on private copying,” she said. “The strategy, which has been elaborated during the seminar, will be instrumental to make sure creators, in the next two years, get more revenues and realise even more the potential of their creativity. We need to put in place and enforce policies which protect creators. They are part of a value chain which contributes to the socio-economic development of our countries.”

She called for the directive to be implemented as a “fast-track” priority in each of the member states. This involves technical cooperation between the relevant parties, including collective management organisations, hardware and device makers, policymakers and enforcement agencies. “Training is needed to prepare customs officials. An education programme is needed, supported by governments, to ensure there is public understanding of the benefits of the private copying system.”

CISAC has played a key role in providing legal and operational guidance around the new directive, with Yvonne Chaka Chaka saying creators in Africa depend on efficient and well-managed revenue streams. Big commercial users, in particular, were obliged to pay royalties to creators, she said.

“This is the mission of the collective management system, which CISAC oversees internationally. In that context, this seminar was a really important milestone for establishing and extending effective new revenue streams for creators in Africa.”

She added that the legislative instrument introduced among UEMOA’s eight members should be extended to the 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to empower more creators.

Private copying levies deliver significant remuneration to creators of music and other repertoires internationally. CISAC’s latest Global Collections Report shows that private copying raised income of €368m for creators around the world in 2022.