adminAward-winning gospel singers Kholeka Dubula and Sechaba Pali are fuming at Bula Music, their former stable, which is now part of Gallo Music, because it used their old songs for compilations without their knowledge.Last Friday, Sowetan gave rave reviews to a Kholeka greatest hits compilation titled Praise and Worship and that’s how the singer found out her music was being released.
Pali says he came back from performing in Zambia and was greeted by a promotional poster in a record store this week of his compilation CD, which he knew nothing about.
Dubula concedes her biggest mistake was signing the copyright of her music to Bula Music .
On the other hand, Pali argues he never signed anything that allows the company to use his work without his permission.
Dubula joined Bula Music in 2005 and dumped it three years later after a dispute over money when she allegedly learnt she was being short-changed.
“My heart goes heavy every time these record companies exploit artists. These people are doing compilation after compilation of my old songs and not paying royalties.
“They are continuing with the exploitation of poor black artists. It is not the first one they did, I know about three,” she says.
“I am not going to take them to court. I don’t have the time because I am in ministry. However, I pray that they repent before they die because of my tears and hard work.
“They are continuing to profit from my hard work even though I am entitled to royalties.
“(Bula Music) signed with Gallo because they reached hard times and decided to exploit the work that they had stored. I left Bula in 2008 because I realised that they were giving me 5% of DVD sales instead of 10. ‘When the contract expired, I left and Clive (Roberts, the former Bula Music co-boss) had the nerve to show me the sales figures. They made R300000 from those DVD sales and he told me that he would not give me my money unless I renewed the contract,) says Dubula.
Pali says that he would suggest artists get a communal lawyer to handle their royalties.
“Now that the company is under Gallo, I don’t know how I’m going to get my royalties,” he says.
Tshepo Nzimande, their former producer at Bula Music, says in the contract they signed, the company may use the music for up to seven years after release.
Pali claims Nzimande was compromised and accuses him of also getting paid from their work.
Roberts referred all questions to Gallo and says “they (Gallo) will be paying all the artists”.
Gallo general manager Neil Greenberg says the takeover of Bula happened last October and the artists would get paid royalties within the fortnight.
“Artists royalties were obviously split evenly and Bula paid the proportions to us. We are in the process of paying now, there is no withholding of money. We have always been transparent and I don’t like it when artists say that they haven’t been paid.” — Sowetan.
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