Single CMO licensed to manage music rights in Kenya

During a special meeting held on 6 June to deliberate on the licensing of CMOs for the current year, the board awarded a one-year licence to the Performing and Audiovisual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK), formerly the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), and instructed it to begin royalty collection immediately. However, PAVRISK will not manage publishing and film-producer rights for the time being.

The board called on all stakeholders to offer support and ensure a smooth transition, saying the decision was made to “cure the wrangles between the CMOs and to make it easy to regulate the affairs of royalty collection and distribution.”

“[This will also] help cut costs and increase royalty distribution to artists to at least 70% of the collection,” KECOBO said in a statement. “It’s important to note that this process of licensing the CMOs is coming at a time when the government has advised the board to streamline the sector to check on mismanagement of resources, unfair distribution of royalties and help cut down on the operation cost for the CMOs.”

KECOBO added that it was concerned about the failure of Kenya’s three CMOs – PRISK, the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) and the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) – to actualise a memorandum of understanding and a tripartite agreement aimed to solve ongoing disputes.

KECOBO said the three CMOs had shared staff members and employed the same royalty-collection system. It added that two of the CMOs had shared an office, yet each of the three had a CEO and a separate board of directors, which had resulted in unnecessary operational costs.

However, in what could create further uncertainty in an already unstable sector, the decision to award PAVRISK the solitary licence has been met with fierce opposition by KAMP, which has indicated that it will be going to court over the matter.

“KECOBO’s decision to license PAVRISK (PRISK) as a single CMO to administer music and audiovisual rights is possibly the worst thing that’s happened in the history of collective management in Kenya,” KAMP chairperson Angela Ndambuki told Music In Africa in a written note. “The process, in every way conceivable, was outrightly discriminatory and the board has failed to provide reasons for declining KAMP's application – a society that has consistently improved its distribution to its rightsholders, with the latest at 61% [of the CMO’s income] and passed the overall good governance test. PRISK, on the other hand, has not distributed a cent in the past two years and has failed to even hold elections as required of all CMOs.”

KAMP said that in past forensic audit reports, including its most recent report in 2023, KECOBO had flagged what it termed as embezzlement of rightsholders’ funds by PRISK’s management and board, and raised similar concerns when PRISK applied to renew its operating licence. In a letter dated 13 May 2024, KECOBO questioned PRISK on the status of royalty distribution to its members for 2023. This payment tranche was supposed to be released before 30 April 2024.

Music In Africa has seen documents and communication between KECOBO and PRISK relating to the above allegations.

“This decision [to license PAVRISK] can only mean that KECOBO is severely compromised and cannot continue to serve the interests of rightsholders,” KAMP said.

Kenya’s CMO licensing process has been ongoing for the past two months. On 10 April, KECOBO invited companies with appropriate competencies to collect and distribute royalties to apply for a licence. It received applications from the MSCK, KAMP, PAVRISK, Film Makers Rights Achievers of Kenya, and Collective Management Services.

Meanwhile, George Nyakweba has assumed the role of interim executive director of KECOBO, taking over from Edward Sigei, until a new CEO is recruited by September 2024.

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