ZICCO hosts ‘meet the Artiste and Disbursement Programme’ in Bulawayo

THE Zimbabwe Council of Copyrights (ZICCO) has organised an awareness campaign code-named “Meet the Artiste and Disbursement Programme” where artistes from the Matabeleland region are expected to converge to Cowdray Park bus terminus in Bulawayo this Saturday.

The event will take place in an open space to enable interaction and artists to be apprised of regulations and opportunities in the music sector. Some of the artists will smile to the bank as they will receive their royalties courtesy of ZICCO.

ZICCO chief executive Tafadzva Masembura said the event was organised to raise awareness among artistes and copyright owners so they receive fair compensation for their work and that their rights are protected against infringement and counterfeiting.

“This is the first time we are doing this in Bulawayo and there will be live performances while some will get royalties. We want to teach them how to manage their copyrights hence we will be highlighting some things that we have. So all artistes in Bulawayo and the whole Matabeleland region are welcome,” he said.

Those who want to join the association will also do so free of charge.

All stakeholders in the music industry and copyright sector are also invited.

“We understand there used to be bogus associations that were fleecing artists and giving them nothing or paltry returns. So we want people to know where their home is. This is an outreach promotion we are doing in every province and this is for the Matabeleland region. We will be in other provinces but those in the other Matabeleland provinces can also come to Bulawayo even though we will visit their provinces,” he said.

ZICCO is driven by the desire to empower artistes and guard against many of them living miserable lives due to poor remuneration and piracy.

ZICCO was established last year as an organisation for all artistes, music composers, producers, arts associations and organisations regardless of race, gender and status.

It seeks to, among other things, collect royalties of music on behalf of rights holders, and protect their works against infringement and counterfeiting.

The mandate is to collect royalties for its members while safeguarding their copyrights to empower artistes and alleviate poverty, at a time when many artistes, young and old, are struggling to eke out a living from their work due to many factors including piracy, poor remuneration, limited corporate support, lack of transparency by their handlers and others.

Some earn a living out of live performances and paltry royalties distributed by other copyright groups. However, in most cases, only big-name artistes get gigs while upcoming artistes struggle to get any. Since its establishment last year, the organisation’s membership has grown to over 1 000 and has managed to give cash royalties to some yesteryear artistes.

ZICCO also provides funeral cover only for members but the organisation assists when an immediate member of the member’s family like a spouse, biological child or parent dies. Masembura said ZICCO welcomes ideas and advice to advance aspirations and expectations of the arts industry for the benefit of artistes in the spirit of working closely with young artists so that they realise their potential.

He bemoaned bullying and abuse of some artists especially the upcoming ones in the industry by other established organisations. He said ZICCO intends to organise artists into groups based on their geographical location. To avoid clashing with other organisations such as the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, ZICCO avoids targeting already subscribed artistes and venues.

ZICCO is also working with law enforcement agents to fight piracy. ZICCO’s operations are overseen by a nine-member board to ensure transparency, artistes aspirations and set goals and to benefit a musician has to register as a member. ZICCO works closely with prominent individuals, record labels and arts associations like Simba Arts.

-@ncubeleon