Online Reporter
FOUR months have now passed since H-Metro revealed that gospel star Sabastian Magacha earned a paltry 33 cents a day, US$2,30 a week and US$10 a month from the rights to his music played on various platforms.
The platforms include digital spaces, which were monitored by the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association.
This arrangement meant Magacha received a payment of just US$120 from ZIMURA last year.
The case highlighted questions about ZIMURA’s real value to the musicians.
The revelations followed a court case in which Magacha was dragged before a maintenance court where he was ordered to pay US$200 a month in child support for his six-year-old child.
He told the court that his monthly income was around US$500 in his opposing affidavit.
He said he was not formally employed and his only source of income was from his work as a gospel artist.
He attached a detailed statement from the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, where they pay each artist a yearly once-off payment, for the songs played on air.
ZIMURA paid him US$120 last year.
We asked that if a star like Magacha can receive only US$120 from ZIMURA for a year’s work, what were the artists, who don’t have the same status as him, getting from the same organisation?
In February, ZIMURA announced that it had partnered with ACRCloud, a global music recognition technology provider, to enhance broadcast monitoring services.
The association said the collaboration was meant to improve the accuracy and efficiency of royalty distribution to local music stars.
ZIMURA said this partnership would automate the tracking of music played on radio stations and leverage ACRCloud’s technology to identify songs, track play counts, and monitor airplay durations in real-time.
Now, UK-based rapper Desmond “Stunner” Chideme has raised concerns about ZIMURA’s real value to musicians, highlighting that many artists continue to receive peanuts disguised as royalties.
He also called for the auditing of royalties being collected from various institutions, which should benefit composers who have been crying foul over the years.
He said 17 local radio stations were playing local music and, after a year, an average artist is given US$50 to US$150.
His comments came on the eve of elections for a ZIMURA board which were held yesterday.
We agree with Stunner that ZIMURA isn’t serving its purpose in terms of delivering real value for our artists. The organisation is not serving any purpose at all and the time has come for the artists to come up with something different which will serve their interests.
Reports that those who work for ZIMURA, including secretaries, are earning more money per year than the average artist hammers home the point that this is an organisation that is not serving its purpose.
We agree with Stunner that there should be a comprehensive audit of all the financial transactions at ZIMURA.
That will be a good starting point.
Our artists have suffered for a long time and they need to get real value for their sweat.
ZIMURA isn’t delivering that.
