How Will the Copyright Management System Benefit Artistes

For a long time, Ugandan artists have been frustrated by the low returns from their sweat as their works have never been adequately protected against illegal use. 

 

This has meant that artists like musicians, comedians, stage and recording actors, and others have had to rely largely on concerts and hired performances but not the sale of records or the use of their work by commercial entities like radio and TV stations and entertainment places. 

 

This has been happening despite the presence of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, 2006 (Act 19 of 2006), which replaced the Copyright Act of 1964 to deal with the changing terrain of the intellectual property industry. Efforts by the government and the artists to have the law enforced have faced challenges with no mechanism to track the violators of the law. 

 

While the law requires that bars, radio, and TV stations pay the copyright holder for using their works, some artists have opposed this and instead requested, begged, or even paid to have their work played freely, saying that it is a way of promoting them and penetrating the market. They say that the law as it is can only favour “big and established” artists whose works are highly sought after by the market. 

 

Now, with the Copyright Management System, which has been approved by the President, owners of intellectual property can hope for better protection and earn from their work. “Now, technology should be able to tell us who has played my song and where,” said President Museveni during a meeting with industry leaders. 

 

The Copyright Management System (CMS) will be able to register musicians’ works, track usage in bars, TV, and radio stations, ensure artists get paid for plays, and end music piracy. With the new system, users, especially businesses like bars and radio and TV stations, will need a licensed device, which will be attached to their operating license, to play Ugandan content, which will enable the system to track and monitor place and frequency of use. 

 

“Police will then come in to enforce whether all places playing music have the recommended devices provided by this system to detect music. UCC will be able to detect all the songs that have been played through that system. If they have not paid, the monitoring agency, UCC, will communicate that bar X, Y, and Z have not paid for this year, kindly enforce or close the bar,” says Dr. Joel Isabirye, the principal development economist at State House.

 

An artist, say, a musician will register their song and whoever (commercial entity) plays that song will be monitored by the system, according to Dr. Isabirye. The fee charged by the user on all the local songs played on the TV, Radio or bar, will be divided amongst all the artists whose work has been used on that station, according to how many times it has been played.   

 

The system managed by the Uganda Communications Commission will monitor and ensure musicians earn their fair share of the industry’s worth. He says, for example, if a bar pays 1 Million Shillings for a music license, artists will get paid based on play counts. 

 

A song played 60 times earns 60% of the fee, and the rest of the money will be shared among the other artists, also based on how many times their songs have been played.   While UCC will monitor compliance of the users, the Uganda Police will enforce the law, with the penalties for non-compliance leading to a risk of closure.   

 

The system, therefore, is designed to ensure lifetime earnings from the artists’ works by the owner or beneficiary. The project was developed by State House scientists led by Engineer Sheba Kyobutungi.

 

Justifying the need of the system and the law generally, Dr. Isabirye said, “Every business that uses music for entertainment charges people to come and get entertained. If I have a bar or a hotel and I am playing music by Afrigo Band, the people who come to that bar have come to drink or pay to enter because music is playing either on video or on speakers.”