Agency ordered to account for cash

The Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) has been given 30 days by the High Court to account for all money it has collected since January 1, 2017 as royalties and licence fees.

Meanwhile, the licence of Music Publishers Association of Kenya (Mpake) which was preferred over MCSK has been revoked by the Kakamega court.

Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo) had in March 2017 issued the new licence to Mpake, even as MCSK was seeking renewal of their licence.

There have been complaints by some artistes that MCSK does not remit the cash it collects and when it does, it is done without any clear criteria to determine how the money is shared. 

“We declare that the process of issuing the licence on March 2017 by Kecobo to Mpake violated the provisions of Section 5 of the Fair Administrative Actions Act and the Constitution, and the licence is hereby declared null and void,” read the judgement.