Uganda’s Opus Music partners with US-based publisher

Opus says the agreement will allow access to rights management services such as registration of works, streamlined metadata and royalty tracking, and synch for film, games, TV and comercials.

The partnership is also expected to facilitate co-authoring opportunities for Vuga Music's creatives while covering performance, mechanical, digital and neighbouring rights for the Opus Music catalogue.

“The partnership is about sharing our catalogue and promoting it in the same way as the other side in all agreed territories,” Opus Music founder David Tayebwa told Music In Africa.

"Vuga Music will help us fully register all our sourced catalogue for additional protection, work with other rights management firms like Audible Magic and AudioLock to fully protect these rights.“

Tayebwa said the two companies would provide specialised rights management programmes to all rightsholders, including traditional publishing for creators, white label distribution services for artists, and B2B services for rights-holding bodies and music users such as broadcasters, venues and production companies.

Vuga Music president Ralph Amachree said: “As Africans, we can't just let our creative works go unheard or not be accounted for. This is why we needed to collaborate with a serious music rights management firm like Opus Music to source African creatives that need to use our systems to increase their global reach while administering and controlling their rights.“

Opus Music’s catalogue includes artists such as Andereya Agumba (Uganda) and Suzan Kerunen (Uganda), Chris Bihizi (DRC) and Ketrus (Swaziland), among others.