Online Reporter
Trust Khosa
Zimpapers Entertainment Hub
THE Zimbabwe Music Rights Association and the Zimbabwe Council of Copyright have hailed stakeholders’ meetings with musicians and composers as a significant step towards addressing longstanding concerns surrounding copyright and royalty distribution.
The first meeting, held in Harare earlier this week, was convened as part of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Broadcasting Services’ engagements with players in the creative sector.
It sought to educate composers on copyright issues while giving them an opportunity to air their grievances and en-gage directly with the country’s two Collective Management Organisations (CMOs).
ZIMURA board chairman Alexio Gwenzi was in attendance, while ZICCO was represented by its chief executive officer, Dr Tafadzwa Masembura. Gwenzi, who recently assumed leadership at ZIMURA, described the engagement as a success, saying it had helped musicians gain a better understanding of how the royalty system works.
“The Harare meeting went according to plan since it left musicians enlightened on how the royalty issues operate,” Gwenzi told Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment Hub.
“The stakeholder meeting was critical in enlightening our members on how they are supposed to benefit from their compositions.
“History was also made as the two CMOs met their membership as well as the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
“It was a marvel to watch musicians airing their grievances, and we were impressed by their enthusiasm.”
Gwenzi also commended the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for its commitment to improving its understanding of the operations of CMOs and the challenges confronting musicians.
“Such events are very critical to us because they also educate musicians on their rights,” he said.
“On the other hand, it’s also refreshing to note that Parliament is taking note of our business as CMOs and getting to understand what we are going through.”
He added:
“Our hope from now is that they will then enact laws or amend them in favour of composers as far as copyright is-sues are concerned.
“We have been yearning for this over the years, and this is what we have been looking forward to.
“With the committee expected to travel to other cities like Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare and Chinhoyi, it is our wish that composers are going to be the biggest winners from this outing.” Similar sentiments were echoed by a ZICCO representative, who welcomed the engagement and described it as long overdue.
“The meeting with the committee was long overdue and it has come at the right time,” he said.
“Composers have been airing their grievances on what they felt was exploitation. As such, such meetings are very important in addressing the issues affecting our composers.
“It’s high time composers are fully educated on how to understand these systems and how they operate.”
