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Why cluster of DJs have collectively decided to ‘blacklist’ Kenyan music

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 Dj [Photo: Shutterstock]

The news of a Sh200,000 fee for a special broadcaster licence, attributed to the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo), hit the showbiz industry with confusion and was met with rage.

The special licence fee targeted DJs who have been hosting performances on social media live platforms during these unprecedented times of the pandemic.

No sooner had this happened, local musicians whose vitriol was discernible, voiced their concerns on copyright infringement and exploitation.

“When a DJ creates a live stream and starts broadcasting music to the Internet, he has become a radio station. He needs licenses from copyright owners or CMOs,” the board stated.

However, a few days later, Kecobo through their Executive Director Edward Sigei, clarified that “In the case of public performance in the traditional sense (in an unlicensed venue, no streaming), a DJ would be required to pay for a license from the CMOs.

The license applies to DJs who aren’t attached to licensed business premises like clubs, or who perform at venues that haven’t obtained the license from CMOs.

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The fee is payable per gig/event or annual license. The tariff fee for DJ’s performance is Sh10,000 annually or Sh750 per event payable to the CMOs joint license.”

As a result, a cluster of DJs have collectively decided to ‘blacklist’ Kenyan music in their online play sets until the copyright board waives the fees.

“What they’re doing is justifiable, but wrong-timing. Why now? I believe this all started when DJs started doing live-streaming, coming up with online TV programmes like the HitList in my case, to entertain their fans. When people started sending money to DJs, musicians assumed that deejays are making a lot of money by playing their songs.

“This is not the case. I have no (stable) source of income at the moment and the little money I get, as a result, is enough to just get by. I am a producer as well and I understand their perspective. I have even been stricken down by Instagram for playing my own song! We just have to find a balance for everyone involved. I will keep playing my sets and supporting local music,” explains Crème de la Crème, the turntablist and producer.

“For Deejays who would like to stream their performance, they are subject to the Terms and Conditions of the platform they may wish to use. That aspect is beyond the ambit and jurisdiction of Kecobo and the CMOs. The reason is that recorded music in any jurisdiction is subject to rights management information monitoring technology that enables owners to account for its usage on digital platforms.

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“The technological measures may trigger a complaint or copyright strike that leads to blockage of the stream. It is recommended that a DJ or any other digital user wishing to exploit recorded music on digital platforms must whitelist their channels with right holders as per terms and conditions of the platforms. Therefore DJs are required to acquaint themselves with terms and conditions of service of the platforms they intend to use and comply including paying for music usage locally,” states Kecobo.

On matters legal, in an instance where one is found to have infringed upon the said copyrights and a formal complaint has been filed by an aggrieved party such as a musician, then one will face the law in accordance to the Copyright Act.

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